Paduda: Delays in Remedy = Delays in Restoration| Staff Compensation Information

By Joe Paduda

Wednesday, December 9, 2020 | 27 | 0 | min read

During the 12-week COVID peak this spring, nearly 400,000 surgeries (of all types) have been canceled each week.

Joe Paduda

Nearly 1.2 million orthopedic surgeries have been canceled in North America, the vast majority in the United States. In all countries, the orthopedic abortion rate was 82%, the highest percentage of any type of surgery.

Assuming a 20% increase in baseline surgical volume, the researchers estimated that it would take countries a median of 45 (range, 43-48) weeks to clear the surgical backlog resulting from a 12-week disorder due to COVID .

While the volume of surgeries has undoubtedly increased this summer, news suggests that electoral processes are again being postponed in many states.

The implication: the duration of entitlement will increase as patients who have to undergo surgery are back on the waiting list.

Even after returning elective surgery, many patients will be exposed to therapy for weeks before they recover and are fully functional again.

Which leads us to physiotherapy.

The good news comes from MedRisk, a physical medicine management company. The annual industry trend report shows that post-operative PT rose rapidly this summer after the COVID peak. (MedRisk is a consulting client of Health Strategy Associates.)

The company also believed that the delay can make recovery more difficult as patients are deconditioned while waiting months for surgery, although preconditioning patients with PT before surgery can mitigate the delay.

what does that mean to you?

These times are different and require different approaches to ensure a quick and complete recovery. Preconditioning can help your patients get out of surgery better and feel stronger. Yes, it’s different, new, and a little insecure, but these times require flexibility and creative approaches.

Joseph Paduda is a co-owner of CompPharma, a consulting firm focused on improving pharmacy programs in employee compensation. This column is republished from his Managed Care Matters blog with his permission.