Boost Practice Safety with a Successful Internal Contract Tracing Program

Your practice’s revenue most likely hasn’t returned to pre-coronavirus levels. There are a variety of reasons for this, but one key element is that a portion of your patients are not yet comfortable coming into your practice. To get them back, and to get your reimbursements back to normal, you must rebuild your patients’ trust. Implementing an internal contact tracing program will help keep your patients and staff safe, and have the added benefit of getting your patients back into the office.

While contact tracing can seem incredibly complex, picking the right staff member and messaging can help your practice rise to the challenge. Here are several practical actions you can take to build a successful contract tracing process, provided by practice consultant, Brian Ramos, MBA, CMPE.

Look for These Competencies to Choose a Successful Contact Tracer

Contact tracing is a long-term solution that your practice will use until a treatment and vaccine are available. You should assign a specific person at your office as being ultimately responsible for your contact tracing efforts.

Look for a person who demonstrates strengths that indicate he or she will be successful in the role. Qualities that you should look for include a staff member who:

Is detail-oriented
Has strong communication skills
Understands COVID-19 symptoms, transmission, and testing
Is adept at technology.

A clinical background may also be helpful but is not necessary. A registered nurse or licensed practicing nurse could easily fill this position, but so could a excellent administrative staffer.

Provide Dedicated Line, Records Access, and More

The only way for your contract tracing efforts to be successful is to ensure that the person at your practice managing the process has everything they need. Here are a few items to consider:

Phone: Your contact tracer may need access to a mobile phone, outside of your regular system in the office. Making and receiving calls is a significant part of contact tracing, and may need to be done from outside the office.
Dedicated Number: Provide a dedicated number/line, so that the volume of calls does not interfere with your front desk and scheduling activities.
Patient Information: The person will also need access to patient records, a computer and software (if applicable), and a quiet space to work. This position is well-suited to remote work.

Determine Call Steps Based on Yes to Any of These Short Questions

A good place to start with kicking off your contact training program, is to set an expectation that all patients (and visitors) seen in your practice after a certain number of days (between 2 and 14) will be contacted. During this follow up call, each person should be asked the following questions:

Have you tested positive for COVID-19?
Have you come into contact with anyone who has tested positive?
Do you have any COVID-19 symptoms (i.e. loss of senses, headache, etc.)?

Then, based on the person’s response, your contact tracer should follow up with the following:

Negative Response: If a person answers “no” to ALL questions, your contact tracer should thank them for their time and advise them to call your office back immediately if any of their answers change.
Affirmatory Response: If someone responds “yes” to any of the queries, your contact tracer should take down probe further to get more details, determine who in your practice interacted with the patient, and contact trace those individuals by asking them the same set of questions.

It is important to not only document actual patient communications and response, but also information related to any unsuccessful attempts made. While there are special software programs for contact tracing, a spreadsheet program (like Microsoft Excel or Google Sheets) will do just fine.

It’s also a good protocol to have your tracer follow up with each person they spoke to again after an additional 14 days after the initial call. During this second call, have your staff member take the time to explain that you’ve implements this process to make your practice safer.

Try This Short Sample Contact Tracing Script

Each contract training call should be quick and only last a couple of minutes. Here’s an easy-to-follow script to get started:

Hi, this is [name], I’m calling from [practice name]. Thank you for coming in for your recent appointment. I wanted to let you know that we have a contact tracing program related to coronavirus in order to ensure the safety of our patients and our staff. I just have a couple of quick questions I’d like to ask you that will only take a one or two minutes, do you have the time now?

NOTE: Depending on your patients’ responses, either move forward by asking your questions, or schedule a call on another day.

Your contact tracer will need to be careful to follow HIPAA rules and advise patients and employees on exposure protocols. Get more specifics from Brian in the online training, “Contact Tracing: Put Safety Plan in Place to Increase Reimbursements.”