As we wrap up week 2 for many of you (5+ for others) of a change in your visit volume and office structure, we’re noticing conversations are shifting to how to manage what could be an incredibly busy summer. For those of you who joined the webinar last night the conversation was lead there as well.
Here are a few ideas I’ve seen tossed around so far. Many of these ideas would involve your office being structured to have unique well visit / sick visit times or locations.
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Run recalls now, to see which patients are already behind on well visits. If their insurance plan doesn’t require 12 months between visits, or if they had already skipped last year – encourage them to “beat the summer rush” and come in now while they’re home. Take a look if their insurance plan changed mid year, and if the 12 month rule would no longer apply for their scenario.
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Have you started to plan for your staffing needs in the summer? What vacations will be cancelled, or can be moved to allow for additional physicians, providers, and team members. Can your practice plan for well visit clinics on Saturday’s? Would your families and community be open to these options?
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Patients who had well visits on the schedule for this period of time, who can’t or won’t come in, could have a Telemedicine visit to address the wellness conversations, anticipatory guidance, and healthy living, with a follow-up as the office stabilizes and the families are comfortable to come in and complete their diagnostic tests and immunizations.
What else is your practice thinking about?