Physician Revenue Decreases During Covid-19 Pandemic

The Financial Strain Experienced by physicians during Covid-19 leads to alternative income sources.

Many physicians are experiencing personal financial strain during the Covid-19 pandemic.

Why?  Simple.

Unless a patient is potentially dying due to a suspected Covid-19 infection, they are mostly avoiding doctor’s offices and the emergency departments. Patients are choosing to wait until Covid-19 is no longer a worldwide pandemic.

This “waiting period” could extend into next year.

Emergency Departments are seeing a 30% decrease in inpatient visits overall.  The exceptions are Covid-19 hot spots.  Emergency departments in hot spots are seeing an increase in patient visits. However, the increase in patient volume is an increase in patients visits, but not necessarily an increase in revenue. This potential decrease in revenue is due to the lower reimbursement rates of treating patients with Covid-19.

What are physicians doing during the crisis?

Anesthesiologists earn income from administering anesthesia and from supervising CRNA’s during surgery.

What happens when elective surgeries are delayed? Many Anesthesiologists are not busy, and neither are CRNA’s. If physicians are seeing patients in a Covid-19 hot spot, other physician healthcare providers are busy intubating and venting patients.

What about physicians in private practice or working in hospital-employed practices?

Many physicians have closed their practices completely and are relying on telemedicine. They are seeing a fraction of the total amount of patients due to their safety measures in combination with fear from their patients to visit a doctor’s office.  Many physicians are supplementing income with Locum Tenens Assignments, others are choosing Telemedicine.

Telemedicine increases malpractice risks.

Telemedicine alone does not work effectively.  Who is going to do the tests and the labs if a patient is being treated with a phone call or a video conference?

Physicians in these instances are becoming medication dispensaries.  Is it safe for the physician or the patient being treated via telemedicine if the primary goal is to report symptoms and get a prescription filled?  Sometimes, but not always.

Telemedicine visits can increase the malpractice risk due to inaccurate diagnosis. Covid-19 is affecting the economy in ways never before seen. The real surprise is how Covid-19 has affected physician revenue and job stability.

We continue to work with physicians and advanced practice providers to place them in locum tenens assignments as well as permanent placement opportunities.  In addition to our usual recruiting efforts, we have opened a new business, Alacrity Health.  Alacrity Health will generate revenue, and provide patient care without exposing patients to as much risk, and without relying on telemedicine.

Contact us today to discuss how you can earn more patient revenue while also providing better care to your patients.