Five gastroenterologists working in New York City during the COVID-19 crisis shared recommendations for other healthcare providers.
David Johnson, MD, gastroenterology chief at Norfolk-based Eastern Virginia Medical School, shared five key takeaways on Medscape:
1. Keep outpatients out of your clinic and office by utilizing telemedicine. Most payers are being more generous with reimbursement for virtual care.
2. Face-to-face visits may still be necessary for more urgent scenarios. In these cases, prescreen patients by phone and re-screen them before they enter the building.
3. Urgent procedures include upper and lower gastrointestinal bleeding, dysphagia impacting oral intake, cholangitis and symptomatic pancreaticobiliary disease.
4. Cancel all elective procedures that can safely be delayed up to three months.
5. Encourage your hospital to make rapid testing available and to engage in community outreach.