I doubt any of us thought we would wake up six months ago to internal emergency alarms and confronting the worst pandemic in over a century. And yet, here we are. Of course, it feels like a personal battle for each one of us, but we are not alone. Generally, people are struggling to cope all around us —some financially, some emotionally, some physically  —all trying to weigh options.

Here in healthcare, thriving Lynn Homisak practices in many places have come to a full stop. Some turned to Telehealth visits, with the understanding that the handicap of virtual-only evaluation, diagnosis, and appropriate medical care can be somewhat of a challenge. Sadly, other practices will no longer have the necessary resources to survive. The number of patients seen per day dropped significantly along with revenue. Meeting payroll was difficult. Staff were furloughed until further notice, others let go indefinitely. Full-timers reduced to part-time, part-timers, laid-off, and in some cases, staff working from home became a viable option. So did delegating clinical duties to administrative staff and vice versa in an effort to keep them employed.

While some offices have fully re-opened, it’s not to the extent that they were pre-pandemic. And they did so only after necessary alterations and added expenses were incurred to help stop the spread of the virus and assure patient safety, e.g., enhanced PPE, reception area restructuring, sanitizing, and new training techniques on patient handling. Let’s face it. Healthcare as we know it, temporary or permanent, is different.

If ever there was a need for optimism, the time is now. But what will it take?
Of course, the promise of a vaccine is encouraging, provided it can convince skeptics that it is not “rushed through at warp speed” or “experimental” as tagged. This, accompanied by a unified implementation of necessary safety precautions (i.e., fast and accurate testing, contact tracing, hand-washing, masks, social distancing) sends a hopeful message. Until all the pieces come together, we need to refocus on more positive thoughts. If not, current circumstances, tedium, and feelings of despair are factors for a form of low-grade depression. 

While more patients might be the ideal scenario, it’s just not happening right now. What we DO have more of, however, is free  time! So why not be the optimist and use it wisely. Here are just a few ideas. And bonus—none are cost prohibitive:

1. What a great opportunity to work on a more robust marketing plan! Make educating your patients a team effort and use the technology you already have. Staff can set up and manage a routine mail merging system for mass emailing, and doctors can write informative content. Some ideas:

• Inform them of the changes you’ve made in the practice FOR THEIR SAFETY.
• Broaden their education by enlightening them on various podiatry conditions that you treat.
• Change the mentality that corns, calluses, and nail care are the only things DPMs see!
• Perhaps your patients (or their loved ones) have Diabetes. Explain that now is not the time to be neglecting their feet and educate them on how to examine both feet daily and call the office immediately should they discover any changes in skin color, temperature, pain, drainage, etc.

2. Start (or revive) a long forgotten patient recall project. Recall is NOT a dentistry-only service! Consider a general recall program, by groups of alphabetized patient last names, orthotic recall, Diabetic shoe recall, surgical recall, pediatric recall … sky’s the limit.

3. Just say Hi! Increase patient correspondence with some fundamental patient letters—Birthday, congratulatory, sympathy, get well, or just a friendly “How are you doing?” These greetings go a long way in boosting patient attention and satisfaction. “Welcome to our office” and “Thank you for your referral letters” are also great ways to stay connected.

4. Get your house in order. Set up neglected, standard operational procedures:

• Create activity logs (paper or computerized) to effectively manage routine tasks and track current status of orthotics, e.g., signify-ing dates when patient was casted, sent to lab, returned, dispensed;
• Biopsy lab results: Date test taken, sent, received, patient contacted, documented;
• Checklist of duties expected of the front desk staff that allows them to self-monitor their progress;
• An insurance appeals document log;
• Inventory and ordering checklist; and a
• Patient wait-list to fill any daily cancellations or voids in the schedule.

Creating these NOW will lead to more efficiency and improved patient flow LATER, when things get back to “normal.”

5. DIY. Roll up those sleeves and break out the tools. Whether it be a paint brush or a mop, a hammer or a broom, a squeegee or a wrench. Do that deep cleaning you’ve been meaning to get to. Tidy up the parking lot. Fix that squeaking door, or wash the windows, address the dripping faucet, paint a wall or two. Purge —Clean out closets and drawers. Just eliminate “stuff ” you don’t really need.

6. Hold necessary training sessions to assure that everyone in the practice is on the same page with how to properly manage patient visits and maintain adequate safety measures.

Optimism refuses to believe that the road ends without options. Optimism is a choice that will make you feel better.