Primary Care Physicians are facing many challenges in today’s healthcare economy. According to a survey done by Procare, roughly half of independent doctors responded that they expect to have to sell their practice within the next decade [1]. In most primary care practices, opportunities for reimbursements are missed. This lost revenue is not insignificant.
Luckily, advances in technology have given the primary care physician more tools at their disposal than ever before. Many new diagnostic tools are giving physicians better objective data to diagnose and treat their patients, often while driving revenue to the practice.
Advanced testing often delivers results more rapidly than traditional cultures that were often left to grow, sometimes for weeks at a time. A common ailment, onychomycosis, was subject to this delay in getting results.
Until recently, diagnosis involved growing a culture, which was tedious, lengthy (an average of 3 weeks), and prone to inaccuracies. PCR testing is available however does not enable billing for specimen collection.
Increasingly, physicians are being asked for proof of diagnosis when prescribing remedies for this condition that affects 15% of the population. This provides an opportunity for podiatrists and primary care physicians to obtain a compliant specimen to confirm diagnosis.
AMS has partnered with a lab that provides comprehensive testing utilizing three different tests and stains to deliver an accurate result and provide differential diagnosis from melanoma and psoriasis.
A physician seeing 20 patients/day would expect to have 2-3 patients who currently have this condition.
For more information or if you are looking for a laboratory who performs this test, call AMS 888-315-1519. We have a nationwide network of molecular laboratories.
[2] Ghannoum MA, Hajjeh RA, Scher R, Konnikov N, Gupta AK, et al. (2000) A large-scale North American study of fungal isolates from nails: the frequency of onychomycosis, fungal distribution, and antifungal susceptibility patterns. J Am Acad Dermatol 43: 641–648[PubMed] [Ref list]
For more information or if you are looking for a laboratory who performs this test, call AMS 888-315-1519. We have a nationwide network of molecular laboratories.
[1]http://www.procaresystems.com/documents/2015%20Independent%20Physician%20Outlook%20Survey%20FINAL.PDF
[2] Ghannoum MA, Hajjeh RA, Scher R, Konnikov N, Gupta AK, et al. (2000) A large-scale North American study of fungal isolates from nails: the frequency of onychomycosis, fungal distribution, and antifungal susceptibility patterns. J Am Acad Dermatol 43: 641–648[PubMed] [Ref list]