Healthcare professionals know that communication with their patients is essential. To provide the best possible care, they must be dedicated to connecting with patients before, during and after their appointments. Tools such as SMS text, live chat and video calls are all great resources for doing so. Read on to learn more ways to improve patient communications.

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.

In an effort to provide healthcare professionals with a better understanding of how the COVID-19 pandemic has impacted specialty practices, as well as help them identify ways to expedite recovery, Nextech recently published a Practice Insights Report. This report is a compilation of both survey responses from over 547 participants and analytics data from 1500 practices from multiple specialties, including ophthalmology, plastic surgery, dermatology and orthopedics. To give our readers an insightful picture of the current state of specialty practices, we have chosen to publish some of this report’s key findings in this blog.

The COVID-19 pandemic is becoming far more than just a public health crisis. The effects of the virus have proven to be long reaching, transforming one crisis into many. As businesses across the country were forced to close their doors during the initial outbreak, the country experienced a record surge in unemployment due to the resulting economic fallout. While the economic crisis has received much of the attention, there is a third crisis that has been less discussed—the litigation crisis—which has already begun and is predicted to last for several years.

In a recent blog article, we took a close look at the future of telehealth in a post-COVID-19 world. While many would agree that telehealth is now here to stay and will continue to be an option expected by patients long after the pandemic has ended, the type of telehealth solutions providers choose to employ can have a serious impact on how patients respond. In the initial rush to provide patients with telehealth options, some providers implemented solutions that were riddled with security flaws, not to mention HIPAA noncompliant and unintegrated with their EHR and Practice Management.

In recent months, the use of telemedicine options has gone from being seen as a luxury to an indispensable necessity. With the nationwide (and global) spread of COVID-19, and the resulting social distancing measures and state-mandated lockdowns, many healthcare providers across the country found themselves scrambling to implement telemedicine so they could continue to deliver care while minimizing viral exposure. However, it is important to recognize that the need for telehealth will not end with the fall of COVID-19.

In response to the COVID-19 outbreak, the majority of our country’s medical resources needed to be consolidated and redirected to treat the sudden flood of infected patients. In order to open up beds for overwhelmed facilities and minimize adding to the spread of infection, elective surgeries and procedures have been placed on hold for specialty practices for months. However, as certain states begin the process of reopening and lockdown restrictions are eased, many specialty practices will soon be resuming elective surgeries. In order to aid our readers in this effort, we are providing this blog to offer helpful tips on how to do so safely and responsibly.

On March 30, 2020, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) announced the implementation of sweeping temporary regulatory changes that are intended to better equip the American healthcare system for dealing with the current COVID-19 pandemic. As the number of patients presenting to hospitals continues to surge, these new rules and waivers of preexisting federal requirements are designed to make sure hospitals and healthcare organizations have the capacity they need to adequately respond.