Practice Operations Guidance
COVID-19 & Quality Gap Closure Resource Toolkit
- Sample call scripts for gap closures
- Safe return to care guide for practices
- Mailers to patients
- Diabetes Management
- Cancer Screenings – Men
- Cancer Screenings – Women
- Preparing for a safe visit to your Primary Care Provider’s office for patients
- Preparing for a safe visit to the Ophthalmologist for patients
- COVID-19 and your heart for patients – English | Spanish
Employee/Staff Policy
- Establish and continually reinforce a policy that all of your office staff should stay home if they are sick, especially if they show signs of respiratory illness (cough, sore throat, difficulty breathing)
Practice Preparedness Checklist
- Implement and reinforce staff sick policy
- Insist all patients call by phone before visits
- Screen patients for symptoms
- Have them call 911 if emergent care needed
- Reschedule patients to telephonic or televisits
Patient Screening and Triaging
Screen every patient over the phone before any in-person visit:
- Do you have a fever, sore through, cough or difficulty breathing?
- Have you had contact with anyone known or suspected to have coronavirus/COVID-19?
- Do you live in a community with confirmed sustained community transmission of COVID-19?
- In the last 14 days have your traveled domestically or internationally anywhere with confirmed sustained community transmission of COVID-19?
Testing and Prioritization
Incubation Period: 2-14 days
The mean incubation period was 5.2 days (95% confidence interval [CI], 4.1 to 7.0), with the 95th percentile of the distribution at 12.5 days.
Sending Referrals
| Tiers / Description | Definition | Locations | Examples | Action |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tier 1a | Low acuity surgery/healthy patient Outpatient surgery Not life-threatening illness | HOPD ASC Hospital with low/no COVID- 19 census | Carpal tunnel release Penile prosthesis EGD Colonoscopy | Postpone surgery or perform at ASC |
| Tier 1b | Low acuity surgery/unhealthy patient | HOPD ASC Hospital with low/no COVID-19 census | Postpone surgery or perform at ASC | |
| Tier 2a | Intermediate acuity surgery/ healthy patient Not life threatening but potential for future morbidity and mortality. Requires in hospital stay | HOPD ASC Hospital with low/no COVID-19 census | Low risk cancer Non urgent spine Ureteral colic | Postpone surgery if possible or consider ASC |
| Tier 2b | Intermediate acuity surgery/unhealthy patient | HOPD ASC Hospital with low/no COVID-19 census | Postpone surgery if possible or consider ASC | |
| Tier 3a | High acuity surgery/healthy patient | Hospital | Most cancers Highly symptomatic patients | Do not postpone |
| Tier 3b | High acuity surgery/healthy patient | Hospital | Do not postpone |