The last few weeks have been confusing and a little overwhelming. A hodgepodge of rapid-fire publications of potential treatments and multiple, sometimes confusing government mandates and initiatives have inundated us. The overriding theme is clear, though: Let’s first concentrate on keeping our civilization intact. State governments have been largely focused on “flattening the curve” of new infections. And the longer we slow this disease down, the better we learn how to treat it.
Dr. Brett M. Coldiron
Multiple existing medications, repurposed from all walks of the pharmacologic world, have been screened and shown to have potential therapeutic benefit, and they are being tested even as I write this column. The nasty form of this disease is a unique form of adult respiratory distress syndrome, and the terminal event appears to be a form of disseminated intravascular coagulation, which may respond to unexpected therapies, such as clot busters (J Thromb Haemost. 2020 Apr 8. doi: 10.1111/jth.14828).
Now, let’s consider the more mundane issue of keeping your medical practice alive.
Some state medical boards have relaxed the rules on licensing, and the federal government on HIPAA compliance, so that telemedicine has finally become practical. Some EHR vendors have even rushed out modules to make it easier to conduct visits with patients through their patient portals. This has all made it almost practical to see, monitor, and treat existing patients with chronic conditions, and even new ones who do not require a biopsy.
But it has also become clear that telemedicine is not a long-term means of keeping your practice viable, at least not in your practice’s current form. It can be difficult to enroll new patients and the process of collecting copays and deductibles can be frustrating and slow. There may also resistance from our patients, who may be used to having this sort of service performed by us free-of-charge. Those selfies that in the past you may have viewed, called the patient to discuss, and then called their medication into the pharmacy – all as a convenience – are coming back to haunt you. It was free before, they say, what has changed?
Another obstacle, as always, is reimbursement. There is an inconsistent patchwork of private insurance coverage that may or may not pay you. The American Academy of Dermatology has put together an excellent resource on its web site on all matters regarding COVID-19 to help you.
But the underlying undeniable reality is that you cannot support your current practice model long term with telemedicine because only about 30% of dermatology reimbursement comes from evaluation and management codes, according to a recently published study – and the rest, procedures, obviously requires patient contact (JAMA Surg. 2020 Apr 15. doi: 10.1001/jamasurg.2020.0422).
The federal government has been economically responsive by injecting money into businesses with less than 500 employees. Most of you will be eligible and probably already have applied for the Paycheck Protection Program. These are small business “loans” that your bank puts the paperwork in for, which can total up to 2.5 times one month’s average payroll. These “loans” may be 100% forgivable (75% must come from two months payroll, another 25% rent and expenses) if you do not lay anyone off.
Employees can be kept busy doing other tasks besides directly helping with patients. Like many of you with state-mandated lockdowns, my office has never been so clean, the cabinets so well stocked, and the files so organized. The stock room has been cleaned out, and any extra personal protective gear has been donated to the hospital and emergency medical services. We have landscaped the front of our building and if it warms up, we will seal and remark the parking lot. You get my drift. I have also applied for and received an advance of three months of Medicare payments, which will be automatically paid back as practice resumes. This is in effect an interest-free loan. A few days ago, my business checking account received a deposit from the Department of Health & Human Services for 6.1% of last year’s Medicare billings. This is unexpected, no obligation support to help keep your medical office open in the time of COVID-19. It appears that the office and practice will be able to weather the fire.
Assuming our practices survive more or less intact, there are major social consequences to consider. Society is a conglomeration of individuals, and individuals act on their Maslow’s hierarchy of needs (a concept introduced by psychologist Abraham Maslow, PhD, over 75 years ago). Our society has already slid down several of Maslow’s levels. We have reset to about level two, which is safety, one level above physiologic needs. Recall the grocery store fights. Look at the gun sales. The toilet paper roll has been reset from wheel of fortune spin to safe cracking mode.
This reset of the societal mindset has many ramifications you may not normally consider. For example, who will risk buying up to that dream home or purchasing a second home, if you are being told to shelter in place? Fewer may gamble $300,000 on a college education at a less-than-top-50 school. Who even knows when college will start next year. Who is going to take that promotion to New York City, or even New Jersey, and ride the train and subway to work every day? Who wants to commute through the crowded airport on the jam packed “plane train”?
It is easy to predict we will see a severe recession followed by higher taxes and inflation (stagflation). There is a financial writer I like to read who has been predicting a “great reset” of American society for several years. COVID-19 may have precipitated that reset, and things may never be the same.