COVID-19 continues to dramatically impact patient volumes

The Medical Group Management Association’s most recent MGMA Stat poll asked healthcare leaders: “Has your organization recovered any of its patient volume since COVID-19 began?” The majority (87%) answered “yes,” while 13% responded “no.” Of the respondents who answered “yes,” 49% reported seeing more than 75% of their pre-COVID-19 patient volume.

The poll was conducted June 9, 2020, and had 1,213 applicable responses.

Medical practices across the country are still reeling amid COVID-19 and continue to struggle to return to pre-pandemic patient volume levels. This has affected the level of care being provided in communities and the financial viability of healthcare providers.

As is the case with many businesses, medical practices have thin margins that will determine their long-term success. Caring for patients and generating revenue is a critical part of staying solvent and being there to support the ever-growing demand for healthcare in the United States. Assistance under the CARES Act, such as the Payroll Protection Program (PPP) and the Provider Relief funds distributed by the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services (HHS) have helped practices, but more needs to be done to assure the medical community makes it through the ongoing health emergency. Current efforts are underway to further amend the PPP, and HHS still has tens of billions of dollars left in the fund to distribute to providers. 

Practices have been doing everything they can to continue to provide care throughout the crisis, including implementing the broad use of telehealth visits and resuming in-person visits with strict protocols on cleaning, safety and social distancing so that patients have peace of mind before returning to their physician’s office. It is imperative that patients continue to see their doctors so they don’t end up with a preventable adverse outcome.

Healthcare leaders need to continue to follow best practices to adapt and make it through stronger on the other side of this crisis. Improvements in access, technology, innovation and many other areas will continue to play a pivotal role in creating the level of excellence that will fuel practices until this crisis ends.

MGMA Stat

Would you like to join our polling panel to voice your opinion on important practice management topics? MGMA Stat is a national poll that addresses practice management issues, the impact of new legislation and related topics. Participation is open to all healthcare leaders. Results of other polls and information on how to participate in MGMA Stat are available at: mgma.com/stat.

Additional resources

• COVID-19 Medical Practice Reopening Checklist — This medical practice reopening checklist outlines the various financial, operational, staffing and procedural considerations to resume operations and ramp up. 
• MGMA COVID-19 Federal Assistance and Advocacy Center — Regulatory and legislative updates from MGMA Government Affairs 
• MGMA COVID-19 Recovery Center — Operational resources and stories about the pandemic response