your physician office customers

Back to School, Work, Life

Getting back to a semblance of normalcy could mean an uptick in physicals, vaccinations, and more for your physician office customers.

By Jim Poggi

As we attempt to move past the COVID-19

pandemic, there is no question everyone wants to find a “new normal” that feels more comfortable than sitting at home, avoiding social contact with friends and family, and giving up meals and entertainment out of the home. A lot of sacrifices were made, not the least of which has been our health. Hanging around home does not mean gym visits, long runs outdoors or training with friends. It has more likely included binge watching the COVID-19 news, a series of Zoom meetings and maybe even a little more consumption of adult beverages than usual. While there is no general consensus of what the new normal will look like, there is no doubt that taking better care of our health is a priority. Most physician practices shut down or dramatically reduced patient visits during the pandemic, and most of us put off going to the doctor for any reason but the most serious health concerns. For these reasons, getting back to “normal” means getting back to health.

School physicals

Whether your school district is resuming physical return to school fully, has adopted vaccine and mask guidelines, or is allowing parents to make virtual vs. physical school attendance decisions, annual school physical season is upon us again. Most children will need to return to school with a record of vaccination provided

by their health care provider. So, part of our return to normal is a trip to the primary care office. The typical school physical will include a review of health concerns, vital signs measurements and a review of needed vaccinations. With childhood obesity on the rise, concerns about pre-diabetes should trigger both lipid and hemoglobin A1C testing for children showing signs of an unhealthy weight, along with counseling of both the children and parents to engage in healthy physical exercise and avoid indulgence in junk foods. Your chance to be a valued consultant comes with a reminder that providing appropriate lipid, diabetes and general health tests along with personal counseling is the surest way to help patients create and achieve their goals for healthy living. These habits should start at an early age and continue throughout adulthood.

Work physicals

COVID-19 has changed the face of the American work force forever. Many service-level jobs have gone away, and many Americans have decided to leave a job they did not love and seek a more rewarding career. Depending on how you look at it, the pandemic has provided us with a long overdue opportunity to re-assess who we are, who we want to be and what is important to us. No matter the choices, going back to work in one way or another is the likely outcome for most of us. For many, this will include a back to work physical also. Vital signs and a quick review of health history and concerns are always on the agenda. Since adults are more likely to be on a treatment program, testing is likely to be driven by underlying health conditions, especially those that could have gotten out of hand due to months of less active living. A CMP, CBC, lipid, urinalysis and diabetes testing are the core requirements for the patient centric physician practice to initiate or modify the patient treatment programs of patients they may not have seen for quite a while. For many folks returning to work, a drug test will be a mandatory requirement.

Every return-to-normal strategy should include a visit to the physician, whether a return to work is part of the rationale or just because it has been a while since the patient and caregiver have reviewed the patient treatment program. Be sure to check in with your physician practices and specialty occupational therapy clinics to remind them of the importance of testing with patient visits on the rise again.

Medicare wellness exams … and a few surprises

We have discussed Medicare annual wellness exams for several years and we know they are important as basic health assessments. But, how many of us know (and remind our customers) that Medicare covers a wide range of preventive measures at no cost to the patient including lipid testing, diabetes testing, cardiovascular (lipid and glucose) testing and screening for colorectal cancer, HIV and HCV? We have all these tests available, most waived, and a timely reminder is a sound part of your back to normal plan. The complete list of Medicare approved preventive measures is very comprehensive and can be found here www.medicare.gov/coverage/preventive-screening-services

Skinned knees and runny noses

No return to normal would be complete without the skinned knees and runny noses that come along with resuming outdoor activity. Most years, I would consider them unfortunate but unavoidable elements of daily living. This year I consider them part of the path to resuming a semblance of life before COVID. So, to be prepared, check in with your urgent care and free-standing ER facilities and have a planning conversation. Are they seeing visits resuming? What sort of conditions are they seeing? Need med-surg supplies? Are they ready for the classic tests needed in their setting: CBC, basic chemistry and respiratory? If not, your return to normal will be to help them prepare!

Flu on the horizon?

Finally, the wild card in respiratory testing: influenza. We all know we essentially did not have a flu season last year, and very little flu testing as a result, but, boy, did we ever have a COVID testing event. There is little doubt that COVID testing will continue this fall and beyond. Vaccinations are lagging behind projections for herd immunity and outbreaks are being seen in many areas where the vaccine coverage is lowest.

Many of us wonder what this year’s respiratory season will bring. Will influenza return with its usual random mix of timing of occurrence, locations and severity?

While the answer is still on the horizon, there is little doubt that just as increased social interaction and relaxation of mask guidelines are showing an increase in COVID cases, the same causes are equally likely to signal a recurrence of seasonal respiratory illnesses we have come to know and expect. Flu, strep and RSV are more likely than not to occur more frequently this year than last. Be ready and make sure your customers are as well. A “return to normal” includes a return to planning and consulting with your customers. Get to it!