After the rapid spread of the COVID-19 coronavirus, social distancing guidelines quickly gave way to widespread shutdown orders that caused many businesses to close for an extended period of time. While some practices remained in operation, not every holistic practice was lucky enough to receive “essential” designation and joined businesses like restaurants and retail stores in closing their doors.
As several states begin to relax these guidelines, holistic practices need to start making plans to reopen to patients. Before they can do so, however, there are several factors they must take into consideration.
The question of when to reopen depends on a number of factors. First and foremost, COVID-19 shutdown orders have been implemented at the state level, so there has not been a universal standard applied to all practices across the country. This also applies to the decision to reopen, with some states moving very swiftly (perhaps too swiftly, in the eyes of some health experts) while others are more hesitant.
In some cases, holistic practices did not close at all. Chiropractic providers, for example, were designated as an essential service by the Department of Homeland Security in late March. While this designation took the form of an advisory rather than a federal mandate, it did create the justification for some states to allow these practices to stay open throughout the COVID-19 shutdown.
For massage therapy and acupuncture practices, however, the situation has been more complicated. Without clear guidance from federal authorities, most states have either specifically designated massage and acupuncture as “non-essential” medical services or failed to provide a clear exemption from shutdown guidelines. Since providing massage and acupuncture treatments is not possible without close contact with patients, many of these practices would most likely have experienced a significant drop-off in patient traffic even if they had been deemed essential medical services.
Given this complex environment, each state’s guidelines for relaxing shutdown policies must be considered individually. Some states are already allowing non-essential practices to reopen, but others are keeping strict social distancing guidelines in place for the foreseeable future. Holistic practices should check their state’s current status to make sure they’re using the most up-to-date information for deciding when (and how) to reopen.
If your state is allowing holistic practices to reopen, it’s important to realize that most businesses are reopening under very strict conditions that take the ongoing risk of COVID-19 into account. That means several changes will need to be made when it comes to managing and treating patients.
Here are a few things you should do before reopening your holistic practice:
Every patient should be prescreened by phone before they arrive at the office to make sure they are not symptomatic. Do not come into contact with anyone who may be infected with COVID-19. Patients who arrive at the office ill should be sent home immediately to avoid the risk of further infection. Since implementing social distancing measures will likely reduce the number of patients you can see in a day, you should also establish a system for prioritizing patients with the most urgent needs.
Patients should not be in close proximity to one another while waiting to receive treatment. There should be at least six feet of distance between seating. Depending on the layout of the office area, guidelines may need to be put in place to avoid having too many people in narrow hallways or elevators. Non-essential items in waiting areas and treatment rooms (such as magazines, dishes with mints, or games) should also be removed as they could become transmission vectors.
One of the easier ways to avoid having too many people in an office is to stagger appointments. This not only minimizes the number of people sitting in a waiting area, but also creates opportunities to clean and disinfect surfaces that could be contaminated. While this could mean seeing fewer patients during the day, lower patient volume is preferable to your holistic practice becoming a vector for COVID-19 infection.
Even as states begin to reopen businesses, many of them are still advising customers and employees to wear protective equipment to minimize direct contact. Everyone working at your holistic practice should have a mask and gloves, and it would not be unreasonable to ask the same of patients.
Handwashing is one of the most important steps you can take to minimize the risk of infection. It’s especially important for holistic practices, where some amount of patient contact is unavoidable. Stock up on soap and think about how to incorporate a rigorous handwashing routine into your practice. Even when wearing protective equipment and washing your hands regularly, avoid touching your eyes, nose, and mouth while treating patients to minimize the risk of transmission.
Preparing your holistic practice to reopen after the COVID-19 shutdown is a major undertaking that will require you to rethink some of your core business practices. One area that could be more complicated than ever is patient billing. With many people losing their jobs and health insurance rules changing rapidly, it can be difficult to keep up with the demands of billing and coding for holistic practices.
By partnering with an experienced billing service like Holistic Billing, you can let someone you trust to manage the ins and outs of billing while you focus on getting your holistic practice ready to reopen. Contact our team today to make sure your business has everything it needs to manage billing the aftermath of the COVID-19 shutdown.
At Holbie, we offer complete and innovative Holistic Billing Services for acupuncture, massage therapy, and chiropractic providers.
At Holbie, we offer complete and innovative Holistic Billing Services for acupuncture, massage therapy, and chiropractic providers.
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