I’m writing today because we need our AGS members who have primary care geriatrics practices—across settings—to complete the survey conducted by the Larry A. Green Center on behalf of the Agency for Health Care Research and Quality (AHRQ).
Here in the tri-state area, the AGS staff are turning the corner on four weeks of teleworking. We hope it’s helping further your true heroism on the front lines of caring for individuals with COVID-19. We’ve watched as our members report taking on hospital shifts, changing workflows to deliver care to older adults in new ways, and grappling with the heart-breaking toll this diseases has taken on older adults and colleagues.
We appreciate the willingness of our AGS leaders, who—despite COVID-19’s impact on clinical practice, education, and research—continue to give freely of their time to help us with policy briefs, position statements, and working our way through the many moving parts that came with canceling #AGS20. So, too, we’ve been touched by the many AGS members who have reached out to make sure the AGS staff team is OK. Thank you!
I started this short post with a request that you complete a survey and here’s why: Data collected this week will be used for a briefing on Capitol Hill. A strong showing in the survey will mean stronger support for primary care. With this survey data, experts and policy makers hope to better understand COVID-19 responses and capacity for U.S. primary care practices. Check below my signature for key findings from last week’s data.
Nancy
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KEY INSIGHTS FROM LAST WEEK'S SURVEY RESULTS
Despite some policymaker statements that testing is adequate, reports from frontline primary care clinicians indicate one-third have no testing and 50% do not have the personal protective equipment (PPE) that makes testing possible.
Primary care offices where testing could take place are on the economic brink, with 42% needing to layoff or furlough staff. Patients with economic, social and mental health concerns (some brought on or exacerbated by COVID-19) are particularly vulnerable, laying bare that existing societal fault lines may be getting more pronounced. These vulnerable populations include those with mental health concerns, lost employment, weak social support, or older adults at home with little support.
More Specific Main Findings
- 89% of respondents report large decreases in patient volume.
- 57% of respondents identify less than half of their work as reimbursable.
- Outages due to illness/quarantine have been reported for clinicians (41%), nursing staff (42%), and front desk (30%).
- 44% of clinicians rate COVID-19-related stress on their practice as severe; 38% rate it close to severe.
- 82% of clinicians report limiting well care and chronic care visits.