Jupiter Internal Medicine/ Dr. Boss had a PPE/disinfecting training session with the staff.
All our patients are told over the phone to wear a mask, if not, one will be provided. We have a staff member in the corridor to check the patient’s in. A mask will be provided if the patient does not have one, a none touch infrared thermometer is used to take their temperature. A questionnaire must be answered. The questionnaire asks if they have traveled? If so, where? Any cold symptoms? Cough? Fevers? Been exposed? The patient then signs the form. The patient even gets to keep the pen!
Currently, all URI symptoms are triaged before any appointments are made. Patients see our policies in place and they are comfortable coming back to the office.
In closing, we only have two providers in the office on each day. The other providers are home doing telemedicine visits through Healow/ECW.
We need to be open. Patients need us for other medical conditions.
Stay well!
Dawn White, CMOM, M.S.
Jupiter Internal Medicine
Office and Chronic Care Manager
Let us keep them coming. ]]>
These fears maybe Financial- of being furloughed, hours being cut or even worse being let go. There maybe added financial burdens of paying for Child Care with the school closures, or loss of Income as other Partners at home may have their jobs cut.
Fears of added Time Commitments- like having to leave the office to get necessities for their homes or take time to help with Home Schooling et.
So have made recognizing the needs of our Office Family has been one of our priorities.
At the onset of the Pandemic we had a full Office/organizational Meeting where we addressed several of these issues. Staff was assured that Hours and Payroll were going to be maintained.Emergency Funds were made available to offset unexpected added expenses like child care. Schooling and Child care were discussed and several innovative solutions were addressed and implemented.
We have continually encouraged an environment of mutual respect and shared need irrespective of whatever function an employee has in the office. “Please” and “Thank You’s” are mandatory. Social needs are addressed with either regularly scheduled events like “Taco Tuesday” where we share a common meal and interact as colleagues and where I am usually teased; or impromptu shared moments. These have maintained morale during these trying times.This has resulted in a caring environment patients and staff.
We have become more cohesive as an organization by having a shared purpose of being in this together
I am confident that we will emerge from this stronger as we have learned to depend on each other and ourselves. This is our silver lining!
Stay Healthy and Safe
Saeed
At first it was rough but very smooth now. Telemedicine appts grouped together makes it a lot easier. Much respect to you Dr Salib. ]]>
I think we can contribute, exchange ideas and Learn from each other.
I am Still doing telemedicine and it is going well.
I might open for few selected patients to be seen for the first few weeks (the ones I know are vulnerable and need to be seen) and do combined telemedicine and actual visits.
I will not keep more than one patient in the waiting room.
Will keep everyone posted on how it goes ]]>
We have added this forum for us to exchange ideas and help each other with our experiences.
As we move forward I believe this can become a great resource for all of us.
I urge you to use this as a sounding board and the more we use it the more useful it will become for us.
We are a large enough organization that it we can support such a forum, specially in these strange and unusual times when we need to stand together as a community to address and fight the challenges ahead of us.
As things change for COVID and so will the expectations from us.This is a constantly changing scenario where we need to be at the cutting edge of what is going on. No one doctor can alone manage what is going on, the news and data is immense and can be overwhelming. Federal and state policies are changing on a weekly basis- There will be new treatments, soon(hopefully) there will be a vaccine and discussions about it, all of which can be addressed here.
The possibilities of exchange of ideas are are endless. This is not just another place to log in, this will be a place for us to get new ideas and empower ourselves, so we can help our patients and provide them the best possible care.
Rohit Dandiya, MD
]]>Well.. after speaking with quite a few specialists I realized that many were not seeing patients and many of their patients were going to urgent care for treatment and in return the urgent cares were doing TELEMEDICINE!! That’s crazy!!
The best advice I could give them is to reopen your office… lead.. make sure your patients see the safety measures you have in place and communicate daily with staff as things can change multiple times a day. It starts at the top. Many of them were fearful for themselves.
I suggested they stay on top of CDC guidelines and implement their own safety measures. I have been in touch with both the DOH and the Governor’s office and I was impressed that my concerns and suggestions were well received. I know many of us are in different areas of the county and we are observing different scenarios. But fear can be over come with communication. That is really what has worked for me. ]]>
I’m not familiar with any payers waiving co-insurance (offering full allowable) for TELEHEALTH, but I’ll reply with an update shortly.
Medicare is waiving co-insurance related to visits that administer or order testing (BELOW).
“Medicare will pay your full claim with no patient cost-sharing if you administer or order COVID-19 testing at that service.
These services are medical visits for evaluation and management when an outpatient provider orders or administers COVID-19 lab test U0001, U0002, or 87635.”
]]>Also, Dr. K says that he saw somewhere that all televisit and televideo visits that were performed and paid by each insurance, that we are NOT allowed to bill the patient for any copays, co-insurance or deductible.
I have found the Florida Blue guidelines on that and it clearly says “at the member’s current cost share cost.” Are they all doing that as well? Because he told me not to bill even deductibles due as per the EOB.
Thanks for your help!
Amy
Every payer and code is different and we can help. Below is a link to the commercial telehealth billing guide. Aetna does not appear to be paying for telehealth 99213, 99203 and Cigna wants a GQ modifier vs. the 95 that most other payers require.
https://pbaco.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/Commercial-COVID-19-Telemedicine-Guide_V4-1.pdf
Can you please e-mail us at [email protected] and we can troubleshoot with you?
]]>Below is the updated PBACO bulling guide.
https://pbaco.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/PBACO-TELEHEALTH-GUIDE-050420-DK.pdf
]]>For 99213 approximately 78 dollars total. 63 from Medicare and 15 to patient balance or supplement. ]]>
Which test did you have, Abbott? Reliability sensitivity specificity ok for the procedure?
Also any notion of testing capacity? I have seen reports of a shortage of testing reagents and no excess manufacturing capacity.
]]>New Jersey-based Quest Diagnostics announced they are now conducting antibody testing for Covid-19 using blood samples, a practice known as serology testing. Quest Diagnostics can conduct about 70,000 tests per day, and is looking to expand that capacity to 150,000 tests daily by early next month.
The company is using serology testing platforms that were originally developed by Abbott and PerkinElmer’s Euroimmun diagnostics division but independently validated by Quest. Antibody testing has the potential to help healthcare professionals identify people who were infected with, but then developed an immune response, to the novel coronavirus.
Quest Senior Vice President and Chief Medical Officer Jay G. Wohlgemuth said in a statement that antibody testing can also help doctors identify people who could contribute plasma to help treat those who are seriously ill from the coronavirus. ]]>
Best practice for consents is to document at least once per year. If you have any questions, please e-mail [email protected].
]]>What are your first steps?
Which facilities are nearby?
]]>What are your tactics on communicating or managing your patients?
What are some frequently asked questions from patients?
]]>What do you always keep around you?
What do you try to have an abundant supply of?
Do you know of vendors that have supplies in stock?
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