Point-of-Care Perspectives
from PatientPoint
Yes, Patients Are Going to the Doctor and Other COVID-19 Truths: Part 2 of a Blog Series
While social distancing is essential, “medical distancing”—staying away from the doctor’s office for fear of contracting COVID-19—is dangerous.
The good news is that, according to various data sources, patients are getting the message to seek the care they need without delay.
Here are three new myth-busting insights on COVID-19 and patient care, according to patient-level claims data and the latest results of our ongoing, independent COVID-19 patient surveys.
1. Patient visits are steadily increasing.
When we look at primary care patient-level claims data, we can see a steady increase in patient visits from their lowest point in early April. Visits continued to return to normal ranges in both June and July.
2. The second COVID surge does not appear to be impacting patient traffic.
An additional look at trends across the country using the same patient-level claims data uncovers that primary care practices in most states have returned to their pre-COVID patient volumes, despite the second surge in COVID cases across most of the country.
3. Patients are spending time in the waiting room.
In our latest patient survey, nearly 90 percent of patients say they are spending some time in the waiting room, with an average wait time of 11 minutes.
In practices with PatientPoint digital waiting room screens, patients are seeing reassuring custom messages like these detailing the steps that practices are taking to keep patients safe.
Through our ongoing data collection, we hope to separate fact from fiction about patient care and COVID-19 and provide an ongoing benchmark of real insights straight from doctors and patients during this unprecedented time. We can’t wait to apply what we’ve learned to continue to make every doctor-patient engagement better at all points of care.
Want to learn more about our ongoing research? Contact us.
