How Has the COVID-19 Pandemic Impacted Your Practice?

from Orlando Medical News January 2021

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How Has the COVID-19 Pandemic Impacted Your Practice?

BY JOHN FOGARTY AND BRIAN HAZELGREN

“The viability of physician practices remains under threat as the battle against the COVID-19 pandemic takes a new turn with record levels of cases being reported across the United States. A new nationwide physician survey issued in October by the American Medical Association (AMA) shows medical practices have been economically stressed by the public health crisis with a 32 percent average drop in revenue.

“Physician practices continue to be under significant financial stress due to reductions in patient volume and revenue, in addition to higher expenses for supplies that are scarce for some physicians," said AMA President Susan R. Bailey, MD.

If you are a physician in your own practice, most likely you have experienced significant challenges over the past few months. If you have plans to increase your practice revenue and build a legacy practice, you'll want to read more. Brian Hazelgren consults with physicians around the globe on increasing practice efficiencies and revenue. He reveals the first time ever combined "Triple Play" essential components of healthcare and the movement that is disrupting and positively impacting healthcare in a huge way.

A Triple Play in baseball is a rare, magical moment when teamwork, skill, and timing all combine to deliver a beautifully harmonious 1-2-3 sequence!

This Triple Play program combines CM/RPM/ Medication Management working together to enhance patient care and substantially increase revenue for your practice. The entire goal of combining these three services is to provide improved care for your patients by, keeping them out of the ER, and dramatically cutting down on acute care readmissions. "There are practices bringing in $200,000+ annually with just 300 Medicare patients on this program," states Hazelgren.

Today, we want to focus on Chronic Care Management.

Chronic Care Management (CCM) - Medicare CPT Code 99490 — provides a new stream of revenue of $42* (national CMS average) or more per patient per month. A team of care coordinators works with your Medicare patients to record and archive an electronic record of 20 minutes or more of non-face-to-face visits with your patients. This service was launched by CMS in 2015 and is really catching fire and improving patient care.

In 2017, Mathematica Policy Research services studied the impact the CCM program was having on patient care, practice impact, and overall cost of healthcare impact.

They reviewed two years of data from the start of the program in January 2015 through

December 2016. The study focused on three major areas – the impact of the program on the patient care, providers and the evaluation of healthcare costs.

During semi-structured interviews with 48 CCM beneficiaries or their caregivers, beneficiaries reported general satisfaction with CCM services and would recommend the service. Many beneficiaries felt that participating in CCM services had provided them with more timely access to their CCM practice. Beneficiaries appreciated having ready access to a nurse or care manager who could communicate with the physician or schedule an appointment more quickly than the patient could have. As one beneficiary explained, "I felt like I had an in to the doctor, like there was somebody else to help me through that process rather than just calling the main number, and then you wait on hold and then they have to type it in the computer and then they have to get it to the doctor." Another beneficiary described how prompt attention from her primary care office helped prevent a potentially dangerous drug interaction. "When I had a blood test, my iron was low, so the doctor said that I should go to the drugstore and buy some iron medicine...I was just looking at it one day and it said on there do not take iron medicine with the thyroid medicine, that it could have serious repercussions. I called (the nurse) and asked her… Within five minutes, she had talked to the doctor and he had given her different instructions, she relayed them to me and we changed the medicine and it was all done in 15 minutes."

One beneficiary described how the monthly phone calls helped him and his wife, who was also receiving CCM services, to remain mindful of their health. "We think about our health more and what we're doing, right or wrong with these phone calls, that we're getting every month now. It's a good thing."

In future articles, we will cover the impact on the practice and healthcare costs.

This is an essential addition to your practice to add the most impressive business system and structure to improve patient satisfaction and increase revenue. There is a distinct advantage for you to be first in your area to implement these services - because only one provider's NPI number is associated with the patient's ID. There are less than 6 percent of eligible Medicare patients on the system today, but it is catching fire, and new patients are being enrolled daily. Don't miss your opportunity to take advantage of revenue on the table.

John Fogarty is regional Developer for RX2Live. He has spent 21 years in nuclear generation, transmission and distribution. He holds a master’s in International Management. He became an RX2Live developer to improve patient care and help providers and practices succeed. Contact him at jfogarty@rx2live.com Brian Hazelgren is CEO of RX2Live - a medical services and practice management company. Brian is a Best-Selling author and speaker, and has helped medical professionals generate over $1.3 Billion in new income streams over the past two decades. To learn more about these medical services bundled together for physicians, you can reach Brian at bhazelgren@rx2live.com or visit www.rx2live.com.

Protect Your Lungs in 2021 – Now is the Time to Quit Smoking and Vaping

FR0M JANELLE HOM

The COVID-19 pandemic has underscored the importance of lung health.

Smoking is a risk factor for severe illness from COVID-19, which makes 2021 an even more opportune time to begin the journey to quitting once and for all.

The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) has identified that smokers might be at increased risk for severe illness from COVID-19. We know that smoking and vaping causes harm to the lungs, leaving lung tissue inflamed, fragile and susceptible to infection.

In addition, tobacco use has been proven to harm the immune system and airway lining cells that contain cilia on their surface. which are our essential defenders against viruses like COVID-19. Without them working properly, our lungs are more vulnerable. One study suggests that smokers may be at a 2.4 times higher risk for severe illness than non-smokers, and another found that current and former smokers were about twice as likely to experience disease progression compared to nonsmokers.

We don’t have any studies yet that conclusively link vaping to a higher risk of severe COVID-19 symptoms, but in an interview with Bloomberg News, FDA spokesman Michael Felberbaum said, “People with underlying health issues, such as heart or lung problems, may have increased risk for serious complications from COVID-19. This includes people who smoke and/or vape tobacco or nicotine-containing products.” Additionally, people who vape may engage in behaviors that could expose them to COVID-19, such as removing their masks to vape, sharing vapes with others and touching their face more often.

One of the most popular resolutions at the beginning of each year is the desire to quit smoking, with more than 70 percent of smokers reporting they want to quit. With the help of the American Lung Association, more than a million people have achieved success with their goal to quit smoking.

For youth, our Vape-Free Schools Initiative focuses on helping schools navigate the public health crisis of youth vaping by equipping school personnel with key trainings and resources. The program includes trainings to implement INDEPTH®, an alternative to suspension program, Not-On-Tobacco, (N-O-T®) a youth-centered vaping/ tobacco education and cessation program, as well as an assessment and guidance on implementing a comprehensive tobacco-free school policy.

For adults, the Lung Association’s Freedom From Smoking program is ranked as one of the most effective cessation programs in the country. The program has helped hundreds of thousands of people quit smoking for good and is now available in a variety of formats – online, in-person clinics and over the phone.

The COVID-19 pandemic presents an opportunity for people, when they’re ready, to find the proven quit smoking support they need. Quitting tobacco will immediately improve your health and might also decrease your odds of severe illness from COVID-19. It’s the perfect way to set yourself up for a healthy new year and healthy years to come.

We encourage Orlando residents to start your journey to a tobacco-free life. Learn more at Lung.org/quit-smoking.