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‘COVID-19 Has Pretty Much Taken Over My Life’: A Practice Administrator’s Perspective

MGMA Podcasts
MGMA Podcasts
Episode • Mar 16, 2020 • 32m
In this special episode of the MGMA Insights podcast, we continue a series focused on COVID-19 and how it’s impacting healthcare professionals and their patients. Throughout this series, we’ll share conversations with experts regarding challenges such as staffing, communication, patient education, advocacy and more. You can keep up with the latest by visiting the MGMA COVID-19 Action Center at MGMA.com/covid.

Joining us here is Kelly Ladd, CMPE, CEO, Practice Administrator, Piedmont Internal Medicine. Here are highlights from her interview:

* “I just don’t feel like some of these folks understand what’s happening on the frontline of the physician office. They don’t understand that we are not able to get basic protection like surgical masks, gloves are on backorder, and that we cannot do these tests.”

* “We don’t have the test, and if we had the test, we can’t perform the test because we don’t have the proper safety equipment to do so. Thus far, I don’t know if I have any huge momentum in getting the attention of some of our officials to help us out – but I sure am trying.”

* “To me, it seems that if people are going to put the doctors and the doctor’s offices on the frontline in testing the virus, that people need to make sure we have the resources to do so. I kind of equate it to, if we’re going to war and the Marines land, would you send the Marines in without a gun? Of course not.”

Previous episode in the series:
COVID-19 Update: An action plan for medical practices and healthcare professionals (https://bit.ly/3aUWqjG)