Impact of COVID-19 on Clinical Productivity at the University of Toledo Medical Center Specialty Care Clinics

Authors

  • Holly Heck University of Toledo College of Medicine and Life Sciences
  • Claire Tipton University of Toledo College of Medicine and Life Sciences
  • Kathryn Becker University of Toledo College of Medicine and Life Sciences
  • Justin Creeden University of Toledo College of Medicine and Life Sciences https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3123-8401
  • Jason Schroeder University of Toledo College of Medicine and Life Sciences
  • Cristin Larder Larder Data Consultants, LLC https://orcid.org/0009-0000-5444-8458
  • Peterson Haak
  • Bryan Pyles University of Toledo College of Medicine and Life Sciences
  • Kathryn Eisenmann University of Toledo College of Medicine and Life Sciences https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5337-5928

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.46570/utjms.vol11-2023-599

Keywords:

COVID-19, Specialty Care, Revenue, Ohio, Recovery, Pandemic, wRVU

Abstract

The Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) re-shaped patient care in the United States beginning in March 2020. While fear of contracting the virus was prominent within the general population, hospitals also prioritized surges of COVID-19 patients by canceling in-person clinic appointments, clinical trials, and elective surgeries. To evaluate the state of clinical practice during the first wave of COVID-19, a regional survey was conducted of clinicians from the University of Toledo Medical Center (UTMC) and ProMedica Toledo hospitals and area clinics from March 9 to July 31, 2020. Qualitative free-form responses from clinicians indicated that both hospital systems observed decreases in patient loads and canceled clinics. We then evaluated how COVID-19 impacted workload in specialty clinics specifically within UTMC. Clinical productivity changes were quantified by evaluating Work Relative Value Units (wRVUs) for UTMC clinics. wRVUs compared to the same period in 2019 revealed the pandemic’s effects of suppressing wRVU in nearly all clinics examined in the initial stages of the first wave. wRVUs recovered to 2019 levels in most specialties and even surpassed 2019 levels by the end of the first wave of the pandemic. The recovery of wRVUs within specialty care during the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic reveals the adaptability of the UTMC medical system in Northwest Ohio for navigating a rapidly changing infectious disease landscape.

Author Biographies

Holly Heck, University of Toledo College of Medicine and Life Sciences

Department of Cell and Cancer Biology

Claire Tipton, University of Toledo College of Medicine and Life Sciences

Department of Cell and Cancer Biology

Kathryn Becker, University of Toledo College of Medicine and Life Sciences

Department of Cell and Cancer Biology

Justin Creeden, University of Toledo College of Medicine and Life Sciences

Department of Neurosciences

Jason Schroeder, University of Toledo College of Medicine and Life Sciences

Associate Professor of Surgery

Bryan Pyles, University of Toledo College of Medicine and Life Sciences

Office of the Dean

Kathryn Eisenmann, University of Toledo College of Medicine and Life Sciences

Professor of Cell and Cancer Biology

Professor of Medical Education

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Published

2023-07-06

How to Cite

Heck, H., Tipton, C., Becker, K., Creeden, J., Schroeder, J., Larder, C., Haak, P., Pyles, B., & Eisenmann, K. (2023). Impact of COVID-19 on Clinical Productivity at the University of Toledo Medical Center Specialty Care Clinics. Translation: The University of Toledo Journal of Medical Sciences, 11(2). https://doi.org/10.46570/utjms.vol11-2023-599

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Research Articles

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