Mountain Ridge Pediatrics

Emerging practice

Mountain Ridge Pediatrics

Size

Small (1-3 Physicians)

Geographic area

Rural

Practice type

Indepedent Practice

Insurance status

• A small portion of patients were Medicaid/Care Management
• Almost all of patients have private insurance
• A small portion of patients were uninsured

Race/ethnicity of patients served

• American Indian or Alaska Native: 0%
• Asian: 10%
• Black or African-American: 10%
• Hispanic/Latinx: 20%
• Native Hawaiian or other Pacific Islander: 0%
• White: 60%

Practice Modification due to COVID-19 Pandemic

• Adopted telehealth platforms
• Implemented a virtual waiting room by checking patients in from the practice parking lot then transitioning patients directly to patient rooms
• Implemented separation of newborn/sick children/well visits. This involved creating a newborn room with a completely separate entrance and exit
• Offered telehealth services 24/7 and during weekends for patients. This greatly assisted with patients avoiding the Emergency Room with bumps on the head, rashes, and cuts
• Implemented vaccination drive-through for vaccines
• Promoted online bill payment services
• Conducted Facebook lives sessions once a week on family/caregiver education topics to answer questions on topics such as, expectations after a baby is born, or breast-feeding issues
• Implemented virtual walk through of the hospital facility by recording a simulation of coming into the office and taking a tour of the rooms and facility
• Implemented virtual meet the doctor/meet and greets to assess patient/ doctor suitability for expecting families/caregivers
• Collaborated with local obstetrician-gynecologists to develop virtual moms' group to answer basic questions about health supervision, vaccinations etc. 

Developmental Surveillance, Screening and Referral Modifications

• Implemented communication email list to notify families/caregivers of upcoming appointments and vaccination dates
• Implemented distribution of developmental screenings via email or patient portal to encourage family/caregiver completion prior to health supervision visit
• Introduced Survey of Well-Being of Young Children (SWYC) screening to improve developmental screening workflows
• Implemented electronic fax technology to improve and expedite referral process to external organizations