This page serves as the central location for all updates and guidance for Texas Tech Physicians patients. Information will be revised to reflect the latest developments.
ALL CLINICS
If you have an upcoming appointment and have not received instructions from your clinics or via your appointment reminder, call your clinic before coming for an appointment.
Many clinics are now offering Texas Tech Physicians Virtual. Learn more about our virtual care available from home or anywhere.
For the safety of our patients and staff:
● Arrive Wearing a Mask - Patients and visitors must wear a mask or facial covering that covers the mouth and nose when entering the building. Please arrive for your appointment with an appropriate mask or facial covering.
● Continued COVID-19 Screenings - We are screening temperatures of everyone before they enter our clinics. You may be asked additional questions about your travel history and potential exposure to COVID-19.
● Abide by Social Distancing - All clinics adhere to social distancing measures, including seating in waiting areas and limited capacity. We continue to follow guidelines from the CDC, state of Texas and local officials, along with best practices recommended by our Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center (TTUHSC) medical experts.
● Limited Entrances - We have limited entrance to our building to a single entrance, this is the main door of each clinic building.
● Limited Visitor Capacity - Again, we continue to ask that only necessary visitors accompany patients, and they must wear a mask or facial covering. In the instance that you do not need assistance at your appointment, we ask that anyone accompanying you wait in your vehicle.
● Well Checks and Immunizations Available - We encourage you to continue well checks and immunizations.
Lubbock - patients under 2, 4 years old, 11-12 years old and 16 years old
Amarillo - patients under 18 months
Permian Basin - patients under 18 months
● Virtual Care Options - Texas Tech Physicians Virtual offers options if you have questions about symptoms, urgent virtual care and virtual telemedicine visits.
● COVID-19 Symptoms - If patients or visitors arrive with symptoms of COVID-19, they will be directed to a designated clinic in the building for those with COVID-19 symptoms instead of going to their appointment. From there, patients and visitors will be tested for COVID-19 and receive further care and instruction.
Pharmacy
TTUHSC Lubbock Pharmacy hours: Monday - Friday 8:30a.m. - 5:00p.m.
3601 4th Street, Lubbock, Texas
Lubbock Patients
If you have a non-emergent illness or injury, we have options for you to receive care without coming to the clinic.
● Call us. If you think you may be sick, call our Nurse on Demand line to review your symptoms. Your nurse will advise you what to do next. 806-743-6877
● Access Virtual Urgent Care. Receive a face-to-face virtual visit at on your computer, tablet or smartphone with MyTeamCare NOW.
● For scheduled appointments, the following clinics are now offering telemedicine and telephone appointments. Please call the clinic to schedule a telemedicine appointment:
Center for Cardiovascular Health
Dermatology
ENT
Family Medicine
Internal Medicine
Orthopedics
Pediatrics
Student Health
Urology
● If you are in Lubbock and think you may have COVID-19, visit the UMC COVID-19 Drive Up Screening.
● Parking: We are not offering valet parking services at this time, but we would be happy to provide a shuttle. Drive to the front entrance and call 743-2669 to request a shuttle to follow you to a parking space.
General COVID-19 Information
COVID-19 is an infectious disease caused by the most recently discovered coronavirus, which can cause illness in humans and animals. Those who have become sick are reported to suffer coughs, fever, breathing difficulties and tiredness. In severe cases, organ failure has been reported.
What experts know about COVID-19, a relatively new virus, is largely based on what is known about similar coronaviruses. The World Health Organization named this illness “coronavirus disease 2019” (abbreviated COVID-19).
Person-to-person: The CDC says that the virus is spread mainly from person-to-person, which means those who are in close contact with one another, and/or through respiratory droplets produced when an infected person coughs or sneezes. Those droplets can land in the mouths or noses of people who are nearby and possibly be inhaled into the lungs.
CDC officials say that it is possible a person can contract COVID-19 by touching a surface or an object that has the virus on it, and then touching their own mouth, nose or eyes, but they said this is not thought to be the main way the virus spreads.
Flu-like symptoms such as fever, cough, shortness of breath and sore throat. For most people who have had the illness, symptoms were mild and resolved after several days.
The CDC says people are thought to be most contagious when they are most symptomatic – the sickest. Still, it’s possible to spread the disease before showing symptoms, so a person can feel fine and still have it, just as with other viruses. Such cases have been reported, but are not thought to be the main way it spreads. The WHO reports that most people – roughly 80 percent – recover from the disease without needing special treatment.
Medical experts across the globe are rushing to find a cure. However, there is not one at this time. The disease is viral, which means antibiotics will not help; the antiviral drugs that work against the flu do not work against coronavirus. Those with a weak immune system and those who already are sick are urged to be especially cautious.
The Texas Department of State Health Services said the risk for all Texans, including those in Lubbock, remains low. Continue to avoid close contact with people who are sick; avoid touching your eyes, nose and mouth; stay home when you are sick; cover your cough or sneeze with a tissue, then throw the tissue in the trash; avoid shaking hands; clean and disinfect frequently touched objects and surfaces using a regular household cleaning spray or wipe.
The WHO suggests people with no respiratory symptoms, such as a cough, do not need to wear a medical mask, but those who do have symptoms of COVID-19 and those caring for individuals who have symptoms (coughing, sneezing) should wear a mask.
If you have traveled from or through a country designated as a Level 3 by the CDC in the last 14 days and have been in close contact with someone that has been diagnosed with COVID-19, and have a fever, cough, or shortness of breath, please call your primary care physician for further assessment before visiting any health care facility.
Resources
Coronavirus Global Cases (Online Dashboard Map)
US Government Travel Advisories
WHO Coronavirus Rolling Updates
CDC Clinical Criteria
City of Abilene Health Department
City of Amarillo Health Department
City of Lubbock Health Department
City of Midland Health Department
City of Odessa Health Department
Employees of Texas Tech Physicians
Additional details for students, faculty and staff can be found on www.ttuhsc.edu.
