Whether clinical, regulatory, or social, we have all been touched by the COVID-19 pandemic in a multitude of ways.  With a focus at the bedside or more globally performing chart review, the enormity of morbidity and mortality witnessed within our health systems must be recognized as the profound stressor it was or still is.  

Even if no longer practicing clinically, physician advisors around the country are facing immense pressures to keep their care/utilization management, revenue cycle, and Clinical Documentation Integrity teams up-to-date.  The flip side is just as important to keep in mind – the colleagues for which we serve as champions are treading water in the persistent deluge of information.  Simply keeping track of everything we send their way via e-mails, rapid-fire huddles, and informal touch-base sessions, is a predicament.  Taking one step forward and expecting expedient integration of new information and understanding of altered processes can ultimately prove to be a bridge too far.

As our global family adjusts to shoulder the burden of so much death from a virus and the promise of so much hope from a vial, physician advisors and other healthcare leaders must allow a similar acclimatization.  Allow grace and patience for your teams and for yourselves.  The changes will come – change always comes – and together, we will adjust.  Together.