HJBR Sep/Oct 2020

HEALTHCARE JOURNAL OF BATON ROUGE I  SEP / OCT 2020 37 For weekly eNews updates and to read the journal online, visit HealthcareJournalBR.com certification and has also been a member of the Medical Group Management Association since 2016. Survey Reveals Need for Greater Access to COVID-19 Tests for Medicaid Healthcare Providers A recent survey of healthcare providers serv- ing Louisiana’s Medicaid population has revealed that nearly 100 percent of primary care respon- dents are conducting COVID-19 screenings, and more than eight percent are offering rapid testing services. The survey, conducted by Wakely Con- sulting Group, LLC, at the request of the Louisi- ana Managed Medicaid Association (LMMA), was circulated to nearly 11,000 providers across the networks of the state’s five Managed Care Orga- nizations (MCOs) in April. The survey closed on June 2, 2020, with 998 responses from both phys- ical and behavioral health providers. Of primary care respondents, 95.2 percent indicated they are actively conducting COVID-19 screenings for their patients. Among Federally Qualified Health Cen- ters (FQHCs), 98 percent are conducting screen- ings. Screenings are defined as a series of ques- tions that determine a patient’s risk for COVID-19, including travel history, exposure and symptoms, and temperature checks. Employee screenings within these practices is also a priority, according to the survey, with 76.2 percent of respondents screening employ- ees. Among FQHC respondents, 98 percent are screening employees. The majority of respon- dents indicated they are also providing COVID-19 testing at their clinics, with 61 percent performing nasal swab testing, while 13 percent are adminis- tering sputum testing for patients with productive coughs. In addition, of the respondents, nine per- cent indicated they are offering rapid result test- ing to their patients. Respondents not performing rapid result test- ing indicated that a lack of availability is the larg- est barrier. Nearly 14 percent of respondents indi- cated they are not performing any testing at all because they are not seeing patients in-person, as many providers continue to rely on telehealth to deliver care. “The consistent thread across all respondents was that our healthcare providers need greater access to tests, both for their patients and for their own frontline staff. Similarly, our providers expressed a concern about the timeliness of test results, as they continue to experience a signifi- cant lag which can impede the delivery of quality care to their patients,” said Kathy Kliebert, LMMA Consultant. “These healthcare providers have demonstrated a tireless commitment to serving one of Louisiana’s most vulnerable populations. As the advocacy organization for the state’s five MCOs, LMMA is working diligently to help con- nect these dedicated physicians with the tools and resources they need to continue providing screening and testing services to Medicaid mem- bers across our state.” n “The consistent thread across all respondents was that our healthcare providers need greater access to tests, both for their patients and for their own frontline staff. Similarly, our providers expressed a concern about the timeliness of test results, as they continue to experience a significant lag which can impede the delivery of quality care to their patients.” KATHY KLIEBERT LMMA Consultant