With the pandemic surging on, so are all the other viruses that cause many pediatric illnesses during the winter. As a result, you’ve probably noticed an increase in phone calls to your practice since the holidays.

For example, your office phone lines are simultaneously ringing, and your practice’s voicemail boxes are full. Your office staff members are returning phone calls as efficiently as they can, taking message after message from parents asking what they need to do for their child. The symptoms all sound the same: cough, runny nose, low-grade fever, fussiness, and maybe a rash that could be the result of the symptoms or perhaps what’s causing them.