Prognosis
Doctors’ Practices Face Cash Crunch as Pandemic Halts Economy
Like other small businesses, primary-care physicians are taking a financial hit from the coronavirus
This article is for subscribers only.
As the coronavirus swept across the U.S. in the past two weeks, small businesses turned away customers, and hospitals braced for a surge of patients. Doctors’ offices have been doing both.
Physicians have deferred nonessential care or seen wary patients cancel en masse. Some have staff quarantined because of potential exposure, while others are rushing to switch as many appointments as possible to virtual visits. The result is a painful squeeze for a crucial front line of the American health-care system.