Opinion: Covid-19 is battering independent physician practices. They need help now
Autumn Road Family Practice is a small, six-doctor primary care practice that’s been caring for people in Little Rock, Ark., for more than half a century. On a Thursday in mid-March, the entire staff met to update the practice’s response to the coronavirus outbreak, since the first case had just been identified in Little Rock.
The floor dropped out quickly. On Monday, just four days later, to help everyone stay healthy, stay at home, and cooperate with social distancing, the staff worked with patients to cancel appointments and schedule remote follow-up calls. By Wednesday, the practice’s finances were quickly failing. On Thursday they made a list of what they could cut and on Friday, this small practice, an anchor in its community like tens of thousands of primary care practices across the country, was forced to make the grueling decision to furlough 12 members of its staff.
