At the beginning of the COVID-19 Public Health Emergency, the American Board for Certification in Orthotics, Prosthetics and Pedorthics (ABC) created a survey to gauge the consequences of the pandemic emergency on ABC stakeholders.
The survey focused on identifying impacts on employment, patient volume, and practice revenue and was sent to a diverse group of practitioners in varied practice settings across the United States. The results were released May 13.Â
Highlights of the report are as follows:
- Employees responded that they are seeing a reduced number of patients and have had reduced work hours.Â
More than half said that the number of patients seen per day was reduced by more than 50 percent.Â
Over 60 percent of employees stated that their work hours have been reduced. - Ninety-six percent of owners/managers responded that their patient volume per day had decreased by more than 50 percent.
Twelve percent stated that they are currently not seeing any patients. - Close to half of owner/manager respondents reported that the size of their staff, including residents, has been reduced during the pandemic.
- The anticipated financial impact on practices varied with respondents reporting moderate (35 percent), high (31 percent), and severe (25 percent) repercussions; only 6 percent did not anticipate an effect on their revenue.Â
To view the complete report, visit the ABC website. Â