NEW YORK, (April 10, 2020) – Luciana Halliday Nofal, VP Marketing and Client Relations SanovaWorks
Polling Questions Answered by Dermatologists and Dermatology Healthcare Practitioners
Moderated by Joel L. Cohen, a panel of dermatologist and dermatology industry experts including Adam Friedman, MD, Neal Bhatia, MD, Bill Humphries (Ortho Dermatologist), Sue Ellen Cox, MD, Kavita Mariwalla, MD and Carrie Strom (Allergan) joined the COVID-19 conversation discussing the questions that are on the minds of many dermatologists and healthcare practitioners in the country. The initial broadcast attracted 1,900 registrants and nearly 800 attendees participated. More than 85% of the audience were of dermatology physicians, with the remaining participants made up of dermatology residents, fellows, nurse practitioners and physician assistants. Attendees were polled a variety of questions regarding how their practice was responding to COVID-19.
Adoption of Teledermatology
Regarding how physicians were adapting to the use of teledermatology, almost one third (30.71%) of those who answered saw no teledermatology patients in the preceding week, almost forty percent (39.98%) saw less than five per day, under ten percent (9.06%) saw more than 11 patients a day, with the remainder of respondents (21.26%) saw between five and ten patients per day in the previous week.
When asked the average time a teledermatology encounter takes (physician log on to physician log off), almost one third (31.25% said five to ten minutes, almost half (47.12%) took from eleven to twenty minutes, less than four percent (3.85%) took more than thirty minutes for the encounter, while the remaining (17.79%) took twenty-one to thirty minutes.
Urgent Dermatologic Cases
When the subject of what urgent dermatologic cases besides melanoma the participating dermatologists were seeing live in their practice, almost one third (29.41%) answered “zoster, versus concerning rash”, more than forty percent (41.18%) answered “spot checks of atypical pigmented lesions”, just over a quarter (26.47%) were seeing “invasive growing squamous cell” and under three percent (2.94%) were seeing live patients in their office for tumors around the orbit.
Patient Access to Medications
Almost one half of those who responded (47.85%) answered that they were having difficulty getting anti-malarials (HCQ, Chloroquine) for their patients that are on them, while the other half (52.15%) were not.
Return to Business for Cosmetic Practices
Almost forty percent of those polled (38.69%) were optimistic that their practice would be back to “normal” (seeing cosmetic patients full time) in July, with an almost even spread of the remainder of respondents believing their practice would be back to normal in June (16.58%), August (15.58%), September (14.57%) or October and beyond (14.57%).
Planning for the year ahead
When asked how likely participants were to register now for a conference taking place in the fall, winter or spring, the majority of those who answered, said they were likely to register now for meetings during any of those time frames, ranging from almost half of respondents (47.75%) who would be likely to register now for a fall meeting, almost two-thirds (62.64%) for a meeting in the winter, and more than three-quarters (77.78%) would register now for a meeting taking place in the Spring.
We look forward to asking more questions in the future to help the community provide the support it needs right now.
The on-demand broadcast has attracted over 500 registrants as of April 9th and is available on JDDonline.com.
Click here for access to Part I
Part II: COVID-19: Your Questions Answered
COVID-19: Your Questions Answered, part II of the webinar series, was broadcasted on April 7, 2020.
During this webinar dermatology experts and other thought leaders examined the legal and financial concerns of dermatology providers during the global coronavirus pandemic. David Goldberg, MD, JD lead a panel of experts, Joel L Cohen, MD, Jeffrey Dover, MD, Gunga Mukkavilli, CPA, and Janel Ablon, Esq. through discussions on furlough vs. layoffs; mortgage and rent relief programs; the CARES Act; and other important and current legal and financial matters for dermatologists.
A second panel of experts including Joel L Cohen, MD and Jeffrey Dover, MD, from the previous panel, joined by Elizabeth Tanzi, MD, and moderated by Adam Friedman, MD, answered questions, discussed practical tips you can use in your practice right now; and how to move forward with patient care. Part II attracted 1,300 registrants with nearly 700 attendees.
Staffing, financials, and teledermatology
Over half of those polled (53.42%) responded that since the pandemic they have had to furlough staff and almost one quarter (23.6%) hadn’t but believed they may have to in the future.
More than three-quarters of respondents (75.46%) said that their receivables in March compared to February are decreased greatly, while less than eight percent said their receivables were “about the same” (5.52%) or had “increased slightly” (2.45%). The remainder of respondents (16.56%) indicated that their receivables had decreased slightly.
With regards to financial assistance programs, almost all respondents (89.15%) said that they applied for the Paycheck Protection Program a Small Business Association loan that helps businesses keep their workforce employed during the COVID-19 crisis. In addition to this, almost one third (28.68%) had applied for the EIDL (Economic Injury Disaster Loan Emergency Advance), just under eight percent (7.75%) had applied for other Federal loans or grants, six percent (6.2%) applied for state loans or grants, and just two percent (2.33%) had found and applied for other loans or grants.
Most respondents (78.42%) were not planning on borrowing from their retirement savings, while a further almost twenty percent (18.42%) were unsure and just three percent (3.16%) indicated they were planning on borrowing from their retirement fund,
Only a very small number of those polled (8.84%) feel experienced with teledermatology and use it as a normal part of their practice, and less than five percent (4.42%) were not planning on using it at all. Almost all respondents (86.74%) had little to no experience in teledermatology. Almost sixty percent (58.01%) had started teledermatoligy since the pandemic began, a further twenty percent (21.55%) had started before the pandemic but considered themselves a beginner, and a further seven percent (7.18%) had not started but wanted to.
We hope you enjoy watching and listening to these panels of experts discuss the latest issues in dermatology and we look forward to bring you more episodes.
The on-demand broadcast of Part II will be available on April 11, 2020 on JDDonline.com.