18 Mar COVID-19 Strategies for Cancer Centers

I was hit this morning with the realization that I work with the most amazing people who give HOPE every day.  For decades, our entire oncology team has been giving people real hope with faith and science-based applications to fearful families.  People come to your office looking for ways to deal with, cope, and look beyond their cancer.  YOU are the epitome of helping patients and families deal with things out of their control!  The world needs more of YOU right now!

As COVID-19 impacts our nation, I wanted to share some things we have implemented.  We have been working with clients around the country to help develop contingency policies.  Robert Lobue, our V.P. of Clinical Operations, has prepared some ideas that might be helpful in your practice as we roll them out in the centers that we own.  Please contact us if you are unable to access these documents, and we will be happy to provide you free copies.

• The Response Guidelines provide direct information about communicating and educating our patients, taking precautionary measures, and focusing on cleanliness – our patients’ and our own.
• The Scripting Instructions will help in your telephonic conversations with patients on Day One, as well as answering some basic questions they may have.
• The Screening Form will be put into their patient record after it has been filled out for our existing patients and any new patients that present until further notice.

Saturday afternoon, Congress passed and President Trump signed H.R. 6074, division B. The law provides easing on requirements for reimbursement and allows for greater leverage of Telemedicine programs. Many of our larger clients have postponed follow up visits until the end of April. With this new law, we believe the follow-up visits will be permissible to bill utilizing telehealth guidelines – both real-time voice and video such as FaceTime. Whether you decide to postpone appointments or use Telemedicine, please check with your compliance team prior to implementation. Our team leads are calculating the impact to your practice should you decide to postpone all follow-ups for 45 days.

We are here to help!  Call us toll-free at 866.353.0360 or contact us with questions.  We are waiving our consultative fees for the next few weeks to help our industry get through the COVID-19 crisis. We stand ready to assist your practice and to help you provide much-needed HOPE to your patients and their families.