Welcome to the second half of our two-part blog series on Boling Vision Center (BVC), and how their practice not only survived but thrived during the COVID-19 pandemic. In Part 1, we focused on how they created a safe and enjoyable patient experience by developing new processes and services in addition to modifying old ones. In this blog, we will examine how they were able to cost-effectively achieve record numbers by executing an aggressive social media and community outreach initiative during the COVID-19 lockdown.

The COVID-19 outbreak caught many in the healthcare community off guard. In very short order, many practices found themselves scrambling to adjust to new protocols, processes and regulations. Some succeeded more than others, of course. At Nextech, we closely monitored the impact of the pandemic on our practices to gain as much insight as possible and to learn how to meet the changing needs of our users. For months, we have been conducting interviews, insight surveys and case studies with our clients to gain an understanding of which tactics are working, as well as which ones are not and we are doing our best to share these findings with our readers.

We are now three-quarters of the way through 2020, and I think most of us can agree it’s been a doozy of a year so far. While the COVID-19 pandemic has received the lion’s share of attention over the last six months or so, there is another widespread threat that many have neglected to notice—a surge in cyberattacks. Many of these attacks have been aimed at various organizations in the healthcare industry, making an already rough situation even worse for many practices and hospitals.

Last year, we posted a blog to discuss how the right EHR software can and should reduce physician and staff burnout. The world has changed a lot since then, needless to say. However, burnout among healthcare providers is still a very serious issue. According to a 2020 Medscape report on Physician Suicide & Burnout, 42 percent of responding physicians reported feelings of burnout. While this is a 4 percent overall drop from five years ago, it is still a fairly high amount. Of the physicians who participated, the highest levels of burnout were seen among specialty providers.

In a recent blog, we discussed the new CMS proposed rules intended to make permanent many of the telehealth flexibilities initiated in response to the COVID-19 outbreak. Since that time, two additional and very significant pieces of telehealth legislation have been introduced. First, on July 16, 2020, a group of bipartisan lawmakers introduced the Protecting Access to Post-COVID-19 Telehealth Act to the U.S. House of Representatives. The very next day, July 17, Senators Ted Cruz (R-Texas) and Marsha Blackburn (R-Tennessee) introduced the Equal Access to Care Act to the U.S. Senate.

At the close of June 2020, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) released a new proposed rule that would make some of the recent flexibilities for telehealth permanent. Many of these changes are already in place, though temporarily for now, in response to the COVID-19 Public Health Emergency. If finalized, this rule would make several of these new telehealth flexibilities permanent. This blog will provide you with a summary of the proposed rule so that you can stay informed on what it could mean for you and your practice.

Independence Day is upon us once again. However, the world is a far different place than it was when last we celebrated our most popular summer holiday. Americans have not celebrated the Fourth of July during a pandemic since way back in 1918. Seeing as how it’s been over a century since we have needed to do this, and that none of us were even alive the last time it happened, it’s hard to know what we should (and should not) be doing. That’s why we figured it might be a good idea to offer our readers this blog with tips on how to (safely) celebrate Independence Day during the 2020 COVID-19 pandemic.

The last few months have been quite a roller coaster ride, to say the least. And despite what some had hoped in recent weeks, it looks like the wild ride of COVID-19 is not going to be over any time soon. Not by a longshot. Over 21 states have already reported spikes in the number of infections, with the highest surges in California, Texas and Florida. In response, earlier this week Governor Greg Abbott of Texas issued an executive order to suspend elective surgeries in order to increase hospital bed capacity. Other states may soon have to do the same.