Even before the Covid-19 pandemic, physicians were enormously challenged by the demands of running a practice: regulatory and reimbursement mandates, coding updates, claims delays and denials, HIPAA compliance, IT security, staffing issues, cash flow and more. In the face of ongoing uncertainty, physician practices are closing at an alarming rate, further hindering patient access to care.
In a survey by the Physicians Foundation, 8 percent of physicians said their practices closed as a result of COVID-19—approximately 16,000 practices. An additional 4 percent said that they plan to close their practices within the next 12 months. Thanks to the increased stress levels among providers, 37 percent of physicians indicated that they would like to retire in the next year.
Beyond these alarming statistics, the survey found that Covid-19 has fundamentally altered the way medicine is practiced at every level. For example, approximately 100,000 physicians have adjusted their practices to be primarily telehealth-based as a result of the pandemic.
Cancelled elective procedures coupled with patient fears regarding in-person visits created the perfect storm of financial devastation for medical practices. Nearly three-quarters of physicians reported a reduction in income due to Covid-19, and the same number expect that the pandemic will result in serious negative outcomes for their patients who delayed getting the care they needed.
Solutions Sought…and Found
Fortunately, there are solutions available to assist medical practices with generating new revenue to help replace what has been lost to the pandemic. WellTrackONE offers a best-in-class Annual Wellness Visit solution to help medical practices fully capture revenue associated with Medicare AWV and risk screening. Our proprietary system enables patients to complete a wellness self-assessment and then leverages that self-reported data to identify and analyze risk factors, and identify and recommend Medicare covered ancillary services.
Covid-19 testing is another area in which WellTrackONE can assist practices. Patients frequently require testing following potential Covid-19 exposures, before travel, or as part of medical clearance for elective procedures or office visits. WellTrackONE offers a complete program of at home Covid-19 testing supervised by licensed pharmacists. This turnkey solution assumes the full burden of outreach, scheduling, kit shipping, testing using telehealth, results delivery and follow-up. WellTrackONE even handles the billing under the practice NPI.
To learn more about the range of solutions that WellTrackONE can offer your practice, please contact barcher@welltrackone.com or call (843) 341-9355.