I've always been fascinated by the way pandemics change society, accelerating change and undermining institutions. Of course, it's more comfortable to contemplate that scenario second-hand, reading about accounts of the Black Death in Europe, rather than living through it with COVID-19. On the other hand, I have a front-row seat to how the changes unfold in real time.
Today Mrs. Beebo and I took advantage of a health benefit offered by my company: Low-cost doctor consultation on demand, via phone/video. For $50 my wife was able to speak to a doctor about a medical issue, get a consultation and a prescription, and never leave home.
Now this service was available pre-COVID, but the pandemic has pushed it into significantly more prominence. I normally wouldn't even think to use it, but I'm now living in the middle of a town where not even the local pharmacy employees bother wearing their masks. (I went through the Walgreen's drive-by window to pick up a prescription and I saw four employees, all with their masks pulled down to their chins as they worked.) Any way we can avoid leaving the house, we're going to take it. There's always some risk that a virtual visit will miss some symptom, we recognize that, but weighing the risk of misdiagnosis versus catching COVID-19 really isn't a difficult judgment to make.
This benefit also points to a future in which we're not as limited by the medical resources in our impoverished state. Our town does not have the best physicians compared to other areas closer to Washington D.C. and it's almost impossible to get a GP, either they're not taking new patients or it takes weeks/months to get an appointment. I'm feeling a lot better now that -- at the very least -- a general practitioner is just a phone call away.