May 29, 2020
Wave 10 of the Jobson Optical Research coronavirus survey found that 81 percent of respondents said their location is currently open. That’s an increase from the 64 percent who were open in wave 9, which ran from May 8-12. Wave 10 ran from May 22-26, 2020.
New COVID-19 ECP Impact Findings
In this wave, 69 percent of respondents said that they are rescheduling patients for June, and 12 percent said that they are waiting until July. Patients seem very happy to be returning for routine care, with 43 percent of respondents saying that patients are eager to return (up 10 percentage points since the previous wave) and 52 percent saying that patients are willing to return when they’re assured that safety precautions have been taken.
IN THE OFFICE
About half of the respondents, 49 percent, said that their locations are running normal hours of operation, while 42 percent of respondents said that they are offering shortened hours.
Respondents in open practices said that they are seeing an average of 14.4 patients per day. Respondents estimate that 54 percent of daily patients are making a purchase, and respondents estimate that their overall revenue collected per week now is about 51 percent of what it was prior to coronavirus.
Most survey respondents anticipate that the patient volume will grow over the next 30 days.
This survey asked a new question: How are you handling patients who arrive without a mask? Here are their responses.
• Providing one for free: 64 percent
• Providing one for a fee: 14 percent
• Not permitting them in the door: 13 percent
• Have not encountered this: 6 percent
• Allowing them to be seen without a mask: 3 percent
Fifty-six percent of respondents expect that they will eat the additional cost of providing PPE.
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REHIRING STAFF
More than half of respondents, 52 percent, said that they have already rehired furloughed staff, and 16 percent said that they plan to. However, not all staff members are being brought back. About two-thirds of respondents, 68 percent, said that they are bringing back all former staff; and 20 percent said that they are bringing back three-quarters.
BOOST TELEMEDICINE
Ninety percent of respondents in currently open locations said that they expect to continue offering telemedicine services. Fifty-nine percent of all respondents said they have billed for telemedicine visits in the past two weeks.
OUTSIDE ENGAGEMENTS
The wave 10 survey showed that phone calls are the preferred method of engaging with all sales reps in every category.
Wave 10 also showed a growing hesitance about traveling to industry meetings and events.
>>Click HERE to download the latest survey findings on how the COVID-19 crisis is impacting ECPs<<
