Operational Strategies for Post COVID-19

The COVID-19 pandemic is causing problems for everyone around the world. While it is important to pay attention to what is going on, there will be a point in time where everything will go back to normal. Many businesses will have buildup demand during this period and those that are ready to meet that demand will reap the rewards. Read the article below to find out what you need to do to prepare for life post COVID-19.   nnPost COVID-19nCOVID-19 is all the buzz right now, but there will be a time after COVID-19 and when that time comes the winners will be those who are ready. No one, at least no one I know, wants to be sick or injured and need medical care, but it happens. Even during this pandemic, people will still need medical care, but the current slowdown, and even stoppage in some markets, of elective procedures, will create a buildup of demand for services. This pent-up demand will still be there as the impact of the virus diminishes and those practices that are ready to meet demand will reap the rewards.nnThings to consider as we weather this storm:n

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  nnKeep your eye on the COVID-19 curve. Once we hit the peak in COVID-19 cases, we believe a new opportunity will start to emerge as the number of those cases starts to drop. Using history as a guide, we will go from pandemic back to “life as usual”. With this being the case, we think a significant opportunity will accompany the move back to “life as usual” and we believe this phenomenon will unfold rapidly. Those practices that are able to address the market demand on a timely basis will reap the benefits!

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• Will you be ready to go back to “life as usual?” Will your facility be ready? Will you have all of the other providers and services needed to treat patients? Be sure to consider other services that may come from outside your practice. Services like: Anesthesiology, Radiology, Blood, and an actual facility to perform the procedure, etc.

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• It’s very likely that at least some hospitals and hospital systems will be swamped with COVID-19 patients, hopefully, many of them recovering. Consider, for example, most employed specialists have employment agreements based on Work RVUs, and they will be hungry to make up for lost RVU’s as the impact of COVID-19 abates; however, because they are tied to a specific hospital or system, there may not be capacity available to support their specialty. This means that the hospitals’ usual case volume may become available! Hospital-based providers may even become available themselves. Do you know which providers are the best candidates to join your practice?

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  nnIf the public health restrictions associated with COVID-19 last for multiple weeks there will likely be some fallout and, unfortunately, some practices may even fail! Will you be ready to respond to these new market dynamics? Do you have a plan to add providers that are looking for a new home? Will you be able to capture this volume?

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• As we have learned over the years, the art of commercial payer contracting has much to do about supply and demand! As we see a slowdown in the market to perform elective cases as COVID-19 cases increase, we should understand that this is affecting supply, but not demand. When we begin to see COVID-19 cases going down, access will increase to provide services for the built-up demand. Be ready!

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nWe want to encourage you to weather the storm and prepare for the opportunity on the other side. If you want to discuss appropriate strategies for your practice, please reach out to us. We are here to help!nnTodd Welter, CEO