It’s no secret that 2020 brought unprecedented challenges to the healthcare industry. While health systems and networks stretched themselves to respond to the global pandemic, non-emergency care and elective procedures were postponed or cancelled, leading to a large drop in revenue, despite the increased demand for healthcare.

Digital technology has been playing a significant role in helping businesses across industries adapt to the new normal. However, a 2019 survey of physicians and consumers found that just 32% of doctors and 27% of patients rated their healthcare system as performing well in terms of introducing new digital technologies. Digital transformation in healthcare has remained a slow process. 

Why does an industry so closely related to science and technology lag in adopting new digital solutions? There are many reasons, including a relative lack of financial incentives compared to other industries, but the most important is the risk faced by healthcare providers.

For most industries, confusion or errors caused by unfamiliar technology may result in minor setbacks or inconveniences that can be straightened out relatively easily. However, in healthcare, mistakes can literally be the difference between life and death. This means healthcare providers are especially reluctant to take a chance on a new, potentially disruptive solution when current workflows are getting the job done. 

How COVID-19 is Changing Healthcare

As medical care systems work to recover from the COVID-19 pandemic, there’s new urgency around finding and adopting solutions, specifically healthcare automation, that can increase efficiency and accuracy while reducing costs. The value of greater efficiency, in particular, is set to outlast the virus, since healthcare providers are likely to face an influx of patients who have been postponing regular check-ups and office visits for less serious or elective treatments until the greatest dangers of the pandemic have passed.

The COVID-19 pandemic has also caused a shift in a previously well-entrenched public preference for face-to-face medical care. Before shelter-in-place orders and social distancing guidelines had a large portion of the population avoiding direct human interaction wherever possible, there was always broad consensus that in-person healthcare was more reliable and more accurate. COVID-19 has created a new demand for virtual healthcare options that is already leading to new improvements and innovations.

Digital solutions will play a critical role as the healthcare industry rebounds from the toll inflicted by COVID-19. Patient-facing solutions will allow providers to adapt to the new normal in which all interaction is done more cautiously, while less visible digital solutions will help them recover and move forward by capitalizing on new efficiencies and time-saving technologies. Here are some worth considering:

6 Digital Solutions to Help Healthcare Bounce Back

1. Digital Check-Ins

Patient check-in is an important part of any medical appointment, as it not only serves as the first point of contact for customers, but it provides an opportunity to collect critical information about the patient and their medical history. The problem here is that many healthcare facilities still rely on manual, paper-based processes that can be slow, error-prone, and difficult to adapt to new social distancing guidelines. Digitizing this process streamlines it, allowing for patient data to be inputted directly into the system, thereby decreasing the error rate and helping keep visitors and staff members safe. It can even be incorporated into the online scheduling system, so patients can take care of it before arriving, which reduces time in-office.

2. Digital Medical Records Management

A comprehensive and user-friendly digital medical records management system can have far-reaching impacts that vastly improve efficiency in key areas. One study found that utilizing electronic records could reduce diagnostic testing duplication and lower costs by 7 to 11 percent. Digitizing records increases legibility, reduces the chance of duplicating records, and allows physicians to access onsite records essentially instantly. And having 24/7 access enables physicians to make informed decisions more quickly.

3. Patient Financial Services

Healthcare organizations were already operating with tight financial margins before the global pandemic put additional, unprecedented strain on their operations. Paperless billing, electronic bill presentment, and other methods of digitizing patient financial services have been proven to increase collections on accounts payable, which will be crucial to helping healthcare providers rebound financially post-pandemic. Digitizing this end of operations also makes it easier for patients to discover payment options that best fit their situation, not only providing a better experience for the patient, but also increasing the chances of the provider successfully collecting payment. 

4. Automated Claims Processing & Claim Adjudication

Health insurance claim processing and claim adjudication represent a major administrative cost and bottleneck for healthcare providers, and a major opportunity for efficiency improvements. Intelligent healthcare automation software help to pre-validate claims before submission to ensure they are accurate, complete, and compliant with all relevant regulations. Claims can be submitted faster and with higher accuracy, which helps providers get paid fast and accelerate the entire revenue cycle. These digital tools also simplify communication between providers and insurance companies, making it easier to coordinate around a particular claim, align on any discrepancies, and simplify adjudication.

5. Liquidity management

The COVID-19 crisis has made one thing abundantly clear: efficient allocation of funds and resources is critical for healthcare providers to rebound. Big players in the healthcare industry tend to have large budgets and face long cycle times, slim margins, and complex decision-making processes. Utilizing advanced digital technology to analyze liquidity trends, factor invoices, and better manage financial resource allocation can go a long way toward ensuring financial stability and optimization.

Two Keys to Successful Digital Transformation in Healthcare

Think Ahead

Certain digital solutions generate the most value when they are deployed together, so plan ahead. Implementing multiple digital technologies can be a years-long process, so it’s important to make a long-term implementation plan. Prioritize capitalizing on high-impact upgrades and solutions that enable more downstream improvements. For example, digitizing medical records makes it easier to transition to electronic claims submission tools and digital payment portals, adding even more efficiencies and greater compliance assurances. The total effect of the synergies shared between these systems is greater than the sum of its parts.

Get Leadership on Board Early

Successfully transitioning to a new system is as much a cultural shift as a technological one, particularly in fields that may be resistant to that kind of change. This will largely depend on support from senior leadership, so getting key players on board early is critical. It can be helpful to conduct some internal research to identify common pain points and inefficiencies that can be solved with digital tools. Be prepared to speak to the benefits of a given digital solution, and tailor your message to different leaders’ most salient pain points. Short-term thinking may cause friction, but this can be overcome with a strong focus on the long-term benefits.

Even amidst a global economic crisis that is having a devastating impact on nearly every industry and region, the healthcare industry is in a uniquely challenging situation. But, with the right digital solutions, healthcare can adapt to survive in the new, post-coronavirus normal. 

Cutting costs and speeding up payments is a powerful motivator for any organization, but it is especially important for healthcare organizations. The payments landscape in the healthcare industry is uniquely complicated, and constantly changing. 

Much of the complexity that plagues the healthcare payment industry stems from the wide variety of payment types and sources healthcare organizations have to deal with - from cash, check, and credit card payments from patients to more complicated receivables like explanations of benefits (EOBs), electronic remittance advice (ERAs), and ACH payments. Healthcare providers also need to manage claims and handle exceptions, resulting in a potentially slow and inefficient AR process.

On top of that, a recent study found that 87 percent of healthcare providers rely on paper and manual processes to handle their collections, leading to workflow bottlenecks and higher rates of human error.

How Medical Lockbox Simplifies Payments

Many hospitals, healthcare networks, and physician’s offices attempt to develop in-house solutions to manage their complex payment processing operations. The problem is that self-built systems like these tend to be slow and demand resources that could be better spent in other areas, like customer service or patient care. 

Solutions like Exela’s Medical Lockbox are designed to replace these costly and cumbersome in-house systems and break through the complicated morass of healthcare payments infrastructure. Through digitization and automation, Exela’s Medical Lockbox centralizes all incoming receivables for healthcare providers, speeding up the payments process, increasing accuracy to avoid errors, bad debt, and write-offs, and shortening the revenue cycle, giving providers faster access to cash for greater liquidity.

Through the use of automated business rules processing, Exela’s Medical Lockbox can deliver same-day deposit and reconciliation for everything from ERAs, ACH, and checks to credit card payments, and complex explanation of benefits (EOB) statements. Plus, Medical Lockbox’s EOB to ERA conversion capability eliminates manual cash posting, making it easier for funds to auto post directly in the provider’s patient accounting system, and reduces the hassles of cash reconciliation.

Exela’s omni-channel intake of both digital and paper formats creates a complete and centralized processing system. All payments, regardless of their source, are converted into 835 electronic remittance files through automated processes that provide greater accuracy and speed than manual systems. These digital files can then be posted directly to medical billing systems, further improving turnaround time.

Paper-based payments and related documents are digitized using Exela’s in-house scanning platform. Utilizing cutting-edge intelligent character recognition (ICR) technology to extract and enrich data and provide benefits beyond what optical character recognition (OCR) tools can provide, the Exela platform transforms paper documents into fully digital assets, and is capable of handling non-standard claims and unexpected variations within claims without triggering exceptions.

Healthcare Automation Streamlines Operations

Exela has been providing lockbox services for a wide range of industries for over 30 years, we’ve used the experience to create a solution specifically designed to address the unique payment processing needs of healthcare providers. In order to offer the most comprehensive, efficient, and cost-effective lockbox solution possible for healthcare providers, we offer a number of specialized add-ons, including: 

• Revenue Integrity Services
• Medical Coding
• Audit & Consultation Services
• Denial Management & Analytics
• Appeals & Grievances Services
• Medical Record Management Services
• Collections

Medical Lockbox can even provide a simpler and more streamlined workflow for addressing claims denials. Our web-based denials management tool displays the original claim and related remittance information in a single view, making it easier to determine quickly and confidently whether a claim should be adjusted, if the patient should be billed, or if the denial should be appealed. Plus, by automating processing of EOB templates, Medical Lockbox reduces the denial rate and enables clear tracking and faster denial resolutions of denials.

Find out more about how Medical Lockbox can save your organization time, reduce costs, and streamline your critical AR processes.

For any hospital, healthcare network, or physician’s office faced with the challenge of managing complex payment processing operations, medical lockbox service providers make for essential partners. Medical lockbox services can help to automate and accelerate slow, manual in-house processing; maintain compliance; avoid errors, bad debt, and write-offs; and shorten the revenue cycle.

A capable lockbox partner with EOB to ERA conversion tools eliminates the manual cash posting, facilitates auto posting directly in the provider’s patient accounting system, and reduces the hassles of cash reconciliation. On top of that, the 2019 CAQH index showed the provider cost of manual remittance to be $5.35, while an electronic transaction only cost $1.78, for an average savings of $3.57 per transaction.

There’s no question that this kind of service provides significant value to healthcare providers. The only question is: how do you choose the right one? 

Here are 4 key things to consider while selecting a medical lockbox partner: 

What Kind of Payments Can Medical Lockbox Accept?

The act of requesting and accepting payment sounds simple enough, but as ERAs, paper EOBs, ACH, checks, credit card payments and associated correspondence add up, managing the totality of the accounts receivable work stream can get pretty complicated. In fact, in absence of a standardized form, the number of templates a provider may need to deal with could be as high as the number of payers - sometimes reaching upwards of 20,000 EOB templates.

A good medical lockbox solution is designed to simplify and streamline processing of healthcare receivables, regardless of payment type. And the best options should be capable of handling your payments, regardless of the format in which they arrive.

Is it PCI and HIPAA Compliant?

Lockbox solutions are great for healthcare providers, but they aren’t unique to the healthcare industry. When assessing a lockbox solution, be sure to assess its level of compliance and whether it was built specifically for healthcare companies or if it is intended as a more general solution. Issues arising from gaps in compliance cost the average hospital about $47,000 per bed, or $1,200 per patient annually. Healthcare and finance are among the most regulated industries in most countries, so finding a solution that emphasizes compliance is particularly important. 

Does it Help Reduce Claims Denials?

Denied claims make up 15-20% or more of the average provider's total claims volume. Consider as well that variances in EOB documentation templates can add confusion and slow down payment processing even when things go well. Additional processing work, correspondence, and back and forth between provider and payer result in increased costs and decreased efficiency. Improving your recovery rate through automated data management and reconciliation, and a more streamlined denials management process can significantly improve your bottom line. 

Does it Improve Process Transparency? 

A lockbox solution that compiles and organizes transaction and payment data and provides in-depth reporting can help you gather the bigger picture and find ways to improve. This goes for just about any new solution you may be considering, especially when it comes to managing and optimizing complex processes.

Look for a lockbox solution that increases your visibility into the metrics that matter and provides flexible reporting capabilities so that you can gather the insights you need to help optimize your system. For example, Exela’s ability to convert proprietary denial codes to industry standard Claim Adjustment and Remarks Codes (CARC) helps ensure proper accounting of denials and application of cash to appropriate patient and adjustment accounts.

How Does Exela Do it?

Exela has been providing lockbox services for over 30 years, and our Medical Lockbox solution has built upon our success to provide payment processing solutions that address the specific needs of healthcare providers. Our lockbox services can be integrated with add-ons such as Revenue Integrity Services, Medical Coding, Audit & Consultation Services, Denial Management & Analytics, Appeals & Grievances Services, Medical Record Management Services, and Collections to name a few. Taken together, these offer a cost-effective, efficient, and comprehensive medical lockbox system for healthcare providers.

• Exela offers omni-channel intake of both digital and paper formats to create a comprehensive, centralized processing system.
• Paper digitization is achieved through our in-house scanning platform and intelligent character recognition (ICR) technology, which enriches data to provide benefits beyond typical OCR engines. Our automation solution is capable of supporting non-standard claims and variations within claims.
• Payments from all sources are quickly and accurately converted into 835 electronic remittance files, which can be posted directly to medical billing systems, resulting in improved accuracy and quicker turnaround time, benefitting the end customer.  
• The web-based denials management tool provides a simpler and more direct workflow through which denials can be addressed. The original claim and related remittance information is given in a single view so that users can easily determine if they should adjust the claim, bill the patient, or appeal the denial, further reducing expensive processing time and cost.
• Automated processing of EOB templates results in fewer denied claims and greater clarity in tracking and resolutions of denials, improving the payment recovery process.  
• Detailed reporting supports reimbursement and performance analytics that improve process auditing and contract negotiations with payers.

Learn more about Exela's Medical Lockbox Services.

Even before the COVID-19 pandemic, doctors around the country were burning out. Worker burnout is an issue in many industries, but it can have serious consequences in healthcare in particular. Overwhelmed, overworked, and under-supported workers run the risk of making errors on the job. And when your job involves administering complicated medical treatments and saving patients’ lives, the stakes are that much higher. 

With so much on the line, you might think healthcare professionals would be eager for workload-reducing, time-saving technology. But, in fact, the medical field’s relationship with tech is a bit more complicated than that.

In theory, technology could do prognostic and diagnostic work quicker than a doctor, and just as accurately, which could inform triage and help direct doctors where their attention is needed most.

One ophthalmologist spoke with CNN recently about what AI could do for the overworked doctors in his field. He partnered with an AI research center to develop an algorithm that can diagnose eye diseases in around 30 seconds. In testing, the algorithm’s accuracy matched that of doctors themselves — it got it right 94.5% of the time.

The above is just one example of how AI could lessen the burden on overworked physicians, bettering both their own health and the well-being of their patients. But hospitals — and doctors — are still much slower to adopt this kind of technology than professionals in other industries.

Why Doctors are Skeptical of Automation

Healthcare automation technology faces a number of hurdles before it can be implemented and relied upon, but the most difficult for many solutions to overcome is the doctors themselves. In a 2019 Medscape survey, nearly half of physicians in the U.S. reported being uncomfortable with or anxious about AI-powered software. Many don’t trust it to be accurate enough. Others worry that it’s here to replace them.

But many AI researchers recognize the immense potential new technology has for bettering the healthcare system. How can they convince doctors, too?

Building Trust in Automated Systems

When dealing with broad skepticism of an entire industry, in this case healthcare AI technology, it becomes very important for companies to differentiate themselves from the rest of the field. Not all AI systems are created equal, and each one should be judged on its own merits. Companies need to build consumer trust in their own specific AI systems in the following ways:

1. Undersell and overdeliver.

When introducing any new technology, it’s important to properly manage expectations and not overhype the solution’s capabilities. IBM’s Watson Oncology AI was marketed on exaggerated claims that sold it as a revolution in cancer diagnosis, but reports showed that it consistently returned inaccurate results that could be unsafe. Tesla made a similar mistake in a different industry space when overselling its self-driving cars as fully autonomous, until a number of accidents made it obvious they weren’t.

In both cases, bold, attention-grabbing claims about a technology’s abilities led to even greater negative attention when the technology fell short. The unfortunate result of overselling is that big claims that are proven false garner the biggest negative reactions.

Getting buy-in for an AI initiative is important, and it can be tempting to make lofty claims and hype up a new product. However, to start solving the long-term trust problem, AI companies and healthcare organizations should take care to verify all claims and err on the side of underselling. It’s better to exceed expectations than fail to live up to them.

2. Be clear that humans are still in control.

No existing AI system runs so independently that it never needs human oversight or review, especially not in the healthcare space. Yet doctors often say that fear of giving complete control of their patients' wellbeing over to a machine is a key factor in their apprehension regarding AI. Clear communication regarding the nature of the AI tool as it relates to doctors’ and other healthcare professionals’ day-to-day work is essential to dispelling this mindset.

The fact is, even the most advanced and capable AI systems are no replacement for the value of human doctors and medical teams. Accurate diagnoses are only part of a dynamic relationship between patients and their healthcare providers. When used properly, AI streamlines those processes to promote deeper healthcare relationships. Be sure to emphasize the continued role of human safeguards and compassion in healthcare AI to put doctor’s minds at ease.

3. Highlight the things AI can handle.

Of course, you don’t want to make the AI system sound so limited in scope that it seems not worth the investment. There are plenty of examples of AI success stories where the technology has proven faster and more accurate than the people that rely on them.

For example, Google’s LYNA (LYmph Node Assistant) has proven effective at learning how to analyze slides with greater precision than human pathologists. When distinguishing between slides that exhibited cancerous cells and slides that didn’t, LYNA was correct 99% of the time.

The best way to market any AI solution is to emphasize its capabilities in a way that promotes — but does not exaggerate — its specific value to human users. It shouldn’t be marketed as a catch-all, cure-all solution, but rather a means of completing a particular task. This helps limit the hype, while still making the case that the system adds real value and improves doctors’ ability to do their jobs.

4. Use big, accurate datasets.

Diagnostic AI is based on machine learning and pattern recognition, which means the bigger and better the dataset it’s trained on, the more accurate its conclusions will be.

For instance, researchers at the University of California in San Diego trained an AI system with records from more than 1.3 million patient visits to a medical center in China, including highly specific doctors’ notes and lab test results. When put to the test, the AI returned diagnoses of glandular fever, roseola, chicken pox, hand-foot-mouth-disease, and different strains of the flu, and maintained an accuracy rate of 90-97%.

Final Thoughts on AI in the Healthcare Systems

The bottom line is, when it comes to AI, data matters. Make sure your systems use the maximum amount of high-quality data possible, and use that as a major selling point for your solution. 

AI systems have improved efficiency, productivity, and accuracy in a wide variety of industries, and can offer the same benefits to healthcare. On top of that, wider adoption of AI-powered healthcare systems will fuel development of even more powerful healthcare technologies. Assuaging doctors’ concerns and demonstrating the real value of AI systems is the first step in launching healthcare into a new and exciting future.

Even as attempts to mitigate the spread of COVID-19 have sent the global workforce home in droves, many individuals the world over continue to work on-site each day to support essential businesses and business continuity in general.  Citizens of the world have taken notice. Here are just two examples:

• Every evening at 7 p.m. New York City residents break into applause to thank first responders and healthcare workers putting their lives at risk to do so.
• McDonald’s is offering free “Thank You Meals” for first responders and healthcare workers between April 22 and May 5.

While we applaud these displays of gratitude, they also beg the question: how are we (and by “we,” we mean everyone everywhere) showing our gratitude toward those members of the workforce who can’t necessarily be called “first responders” but who have continued to work on-site throughout the pandemic? It’s something to think about, right? In the meantime, we can offer the following  insight into how we at Exela are supporting our on-site workforce in supporting our business continuity and the business continuity of our customers:

Staggering work shifts

We have and continue to rejigger work shifts for those employees whose jobs require them to be in the office. Implementing several shifts, as opposed to requiring everyone to be on-site at the same time, supports on-site employees in maintaining greater physical distance from one another by making office spaces less populated.

Providing cleaning products for on-site employees

Providing cleaning products for on-site employees supports those employees in sanitizing their workspaces and keeping their hands free from germs.

Implementing daily cleaning of office space

Cleanliness has never been so important, which is strict daily cleaning of office spaces is critical wherever employees are working on-site.

Providing protective gear

We are providing cloth face coverings for our employees who are on-site in an effort to protect employees from the respiratory droplets of other employees and our customers, where applicable. When our employees must visit viral hot zones such as New York City or medical facilities anywhere (for example, for our healthcare industry customers), we do our best to provide N95 masks (also known as respirators), which are a step above cloth face masks (learn the difference in the COVID-19 Glossary). We also provide protective gloves for all of our on-site employees.

Offering safety training

A mask and gloves won’t help if they become cross-contamination vectors. Therefore, it’s important for on-site employees to be trained in how to apply and remove their protective gear without risking cross-contamination. Training can be provided off-site using tools like Exela’s automated training and certification tools.

Offering non-invasive health monitoring

Wherever our employees are on-site, we have put into place a temperature-monitoring program whereby employees can assess their temperatures (and whether they have a fever). Ideally, this is done via scanner (which doesn’t require skin contact), but disposable thermometer strips are also useful. If anyone logs a temperature of 99F or higher, they should be asked not to enter the site and to instead seek immediate medical attention until a medical fit-for-duty certificate can be obtained.  

Maintaining an agile response plan

At Exela, in the event an employee becomes a “Confirmed Case” (see definition, as well as a full COVID-19 pandemic glossary, here) we have put into place a rapid reporting mechanism whereby all employees are notified and sent home for the day while a nationally reputable cleaning firm disinfects the site before the next workday. We also have a team of experts on hand to collect and analyze all related data using state-of-the-art analytic tool, and business continuity team members, including members of Human Resources and Security leadership, stay on top of such data and related reports to provide continuing real-time guidance on workplace protocols.

“Over”-communicating

The more you communicate with your on-site workforce, the more vital information you and they will have. Keep in at least bi-weekly contact with your employees. Consider offering employee training regarding safety measures. Here at Exela, our Corporate Communications team sends out communications two to three times per week to provide our employees with the latest news, information, updates, and resources.

Encourage your employees to stay informed

With self-service solutions such as Smart Lockers such a popular choice among our customers, it’s only natural we would gravitate toward helping our employees to help themselves become and remain well-informed about the constantly evolving pandemic landscape. Our Corporate Communications team offers news and resources at least weekly, and we keep it reliable by following these 8 ways to sniff out the fake news from what’s true.

Here at the Exela Blog, we’re doing our part to vet the news and share only what we can be certain is true. We hope you’ll do the same. As you work through these challenging times, we hope you’ll find these best practices for making remote working work for you helpful for you -- if you’re working from home, as well as our special edition of PluggedIN, COVID-19: A Tipping Point For Remote Work, a thought leadership publication focusing on remote work trends before, during and after the pandemic and best practices for business leaders and managers to ensure productivity and efficiency while employees are working from home.

If there is any way you think we can assist you, please do not hesitate to contact us at covidresponse@exelatech.com.

More and more jurisdictions are requiring everyone to wear a face covering while out in public.¹ At the same time, it seems that acquiring a proper face-mask is proving to be roughly as challenging as acquiring Willy Wonka’s Golden Ticket. Fortunately, the CDC has provided advice on how to fashion our own face coverings to mitigate the spread of COVID-19. We’re breaking it down for you in the simplest of terms. But first, please note:

• Cloth face coverings should not be placed on young children under age 2, anyone who has trouble breathing, or is unconscious, incapacitated or otherwise unable to remove the cloth face covering without assistance.
• When removing the face covering, avoid touching eyes, nose, and mouth, and wash hands immediately after.
• The CDC advises washing homemade masks daily (or with each use).
• The cloth face coverings recommended are not surgical masks or N-95 respirators. The CDC has asked that these be reserved for healthcare workers and medical first responders.

How to make your own face covering²

The CDC recommends tightly woven cotton, which includes quilting fabric, cotton sheets, and bandanas. However, if you have none of that available, a t-shirt can be substituted. In fact, the easiest way to make a face-covering involves nothing but a t-shirt and scissors. There are three steps, and it will take you under five minutes to complete:

• Measure 7 inches from the bottom hem of a t-shirt you no longer wear, and cut horizontally across the entire length of t-shirt.
  
  TIP: an average adult hand is just over 7 inches.
   
• Cut a rectangle out of one side of the 7-inch strip of fabric, leaving at least an inch of margin at the top and bottom.
  
  NOTE: this is how you create your ties.
   
• Cut through the loops of both ties.

Et voila, you have a face mask, which you can trim down to fit over your nose and mouth, if necessary.

The CDC offers two other methods, but one requires sewing, and the other requires rubber bands. As you can see, we’re perfectly fine with the no-sew, no-rubber-bands t-shirt version. For more useful information in connection with the COVID-19 pandemic, check out the Exela Blog.

1. https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/health/2020/04/16/coronavirus-face-masks-where-are-coverings-required/5144193002/
2. https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/prevent-getting-sick/diy-cloth-face-coverings.html

Figuring out what to believe and what not to believe about COVID-19 can be challenging in light of the deluge of information coming at us from all sources. In Tuesday’s blog, 8 Ways to Avoid COVID-19 Fake News, we offer best practices for spotting news that may be fake and doing some at-home sleuthing to confirm whether or not it is. However, it’s not just news that can mislead us. Sometimes, it’s what we think we already know.

Fortunately, the World Health Organization has not only been keeping its finger on the pulse of the misconceptions people hold about the virus, but actually maintaining a running list of those misconceptions on its Mythbusters page. Here is a summary of the COVID-19 myths that WHO wishes people would stop believing:

Myth: 5G mobile networks spread the virus

COVID-19 is spread through respiratory droplets, WHO explains. “Viruses cannot travel on radio waves/mobile networks.” In fact, COVID-19 is spreading through many countries that don’t have 5G.

Myth: Exposing yourself to heat prevents the spread of the virus

This myth has been repeated in many different forms, including:

• COVID-19 can’t spread in countries that are hot and humid
• COVID-19 won’t spread once summer comes (no one can possibly know that yet)
• The hot air from a blow-dryer will kill the virus on surfaces
• The hot air from a hand-dryer will kill the virus on your hands
• Taking a hot bath can prevent you from coming down with the illness caused by the virus.

None of this is true, nor is it true that cold weather kills the virus. You can catch COVID-19, no matter what the weather, and countries with hot weather have reported cases of COVID-19. The best way to protect yourself from getting sick is to wash your hands thoroughly and avoid touching your eyes, nose, and mouth.

Myth: UV light can prevent the spread of the virus

This is a variation on the hot air myth and equally false. UV lamps should not be used to sterilize the skin, and trying to do so can cause irritation, WHO states.

Myth: Drinking alcoholic beverages can protect you from the virus
This is simply not true. Nor should any other form of alcohol be taken internally as “protection” from the virus. Other things you might think of doing to yourself to protect yourself from the virus that will not work:

• Rinsing your nose with saline
• Eating garlic
• Getting a pneumonia vaccine
• Taking antibiotics
• Taking anti-malaria drugs (as of this date, these have not been proven to prevent COVID-19).

Myth: You can catch the novel coronavirus through a mosquito bite
To date, there is no evidence to suggest COVID-19 can be transmitted by mosquitoes.

Myth: You can tell if you have COVID-19 by trying to hold your breath for 10 seconds
“Being able to hold your breath for 10 seconds or more without coughing or feeling discomfort DOES NOT mean you are free from the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) or any other lung disease,” WHO writes. The only reliable way to determine if you have the virus producing COVID-19 is vialab oratory test.  

Myth: If you catch the virus, you will have it for life
Most people who catch COVID-19 recover completely. What scientists are currently trying to determine is whether and to what extent having recovered from COVID-19 bestows immunity to re-infection.¹

Myth: Only older people and sick people are affected by COVID-19

Anyone can catch COVID-19, and anyone can become severely ill as a result. Certain pre-existing medical conditions can make a person more vulnerable to becoming severely ill. These include the following conditions that can affect people of any age:

• Asthma
• Diabetes
• Heart disease

As you work through these challenging times, we hope you’ll find this glossary of COVID-19 terms helpful, as well as our special edition of PluggedIN, COVID-19: A Tipping Point For Remote Work. If there is any way you think we can assist you, please do not hesitate to contact us at covidresponse@exelatech.com.

1. https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/what-immunity-to-covid-19-really-means/

Right in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, allergy season has begun in many localities. Since both seasonal allergies and COVID-19 can cause respiratory symptoms , we sought advice from pharmacist Ramzi Yacoub¹ about how you can tell the difference between seasonal allergies and the onset of COVID-19. Here are two things to ask yourself:

Do you have a fever?

Allergies should not produce a fever. COVID-19 almost always presents with a fever. Other symptoms of COVID-19 include coughing and shortness of breath. These symptoms may appear 2-14 days after exposure.²

Does your allergy medication help to alleviate symptoms?

If your allergy symptoms respond to allergy medication, then it’s a good sign that you aren’t suffering from COVID-19. If your allergies are not responding to medication, that doesn’t mean you have COVID-19. Rather, it may be that you need a different or stronger therapy. In any event, in the case of unresolved symptoms, it’s best to check with your physician.

Yacoub also offers the following advice on how to alleviate allergy symptoms without medication.

• Avoid being outdoors on windy days. If you must be outdoors on windy days, wear a mask (or scarf) and glasses, to keep allergans at bay.
• If you’ve been outdoors, take off your shoes, shower, wash your hair, and change your clothes when you arrive home. Doing so will help prevent pollen and other allergens from spreading inside your home.
• If possible, keep doors and windows closed and use an air conditioner with HEPA filtration. These filters trap allergens before they can irritate you.
• Avoid smoking, as smoking exacerbates allergy symptoms.

We know that everyone is preoccupied with this pandemic. You can keep up with Exela’s COVID-19 updates by bookmarking this page. For reference, here is our handy glossary of COVID-19-related terms. Here are three COVID-19-related scams you should stay away from.

1. Ramzi Yacoub, PharmD, Chief Pharmacy Officer for SingleCare.
2. https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/symptoms-testing/symptoms.html

Ever since the outbreak of COVID-19, the news has been rife with references to communities (from countries to states to localities like counties and municipalities) that have gone on some form of lockdown. Right about now you might be thinking, “Lockdown? That seems extreme; I thought we were just social distancing.” Or if you’ve recently returned from, say, Spain or Italy, perhaps you’re thinking, “Lockdown? Heck, I’m full-on quarantined for the next two weeks.” Technically, however, both social distancing and quarantining are forms of lockdown.

What is lockdown?

Lockdown is a non-technical term that includes all public health measures that are aimed at controlling the movement of members of a community in order to mitigate the spread of illness (in this case, COVID-19).

The difference between Social Distancing and Quarantining

Both social distancing and quarantining are strategies to mitigate the spread of an illness, in this case, COVID-19, which is highly contagious and spread through respiratory droplets (for the precise definitions of the italicized terms, see our Glossary of COVID-19 Terms). However, social distancing presumes you have no reason to believe you might be carrying the virus, and therefore, there is no restriction of movement. Quarantining, on the other hand, is the practice of restricting one’s movements (staying home, and in some cases, staying in one room in one’s home) after exposure to someone who is sick with the virus.

The difference between Quarantining and Isolating

Both quarantining and isolating refer to restricting one’s movements to prevent the spread of illness; in quarantine and isolation, the term “staying home” really means “staying home.” It sometimes even means staying in one room in one’s home (as opposed to moving about freely in one’s home). The difference, however, is that one isolates when one has actually been diagnosed with COVID-19, whereas one quarantines when one believes they’ve been exposed to COVID-19 but have not yet been diagnosed.

The difference between Sheltering-in-Place and Social Distancing, Quarantining, and Isolating

Sheltering-in-place (or sheltering-at-home) is aimed at protecting oneself from catching the virus from someone else. Quarantining and isolating are aimed at protecting other people from catching the virus from you. Social distancing is the means by which viral spread can be contained wherever one is, whether home or out in public.

What is a state of emergency?

When a community (whether a country, a state, or a locality) declares a “state of emergency,” it means that the community’s government has sought federal funds to help the community cope with exigent circumstances (circumstances that are pressing, such as the aftermath of a hurricane; in this case, the exigent circumstances refer to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Yesterday, as I was walking my rescue hound, Lucille Ball (newly adopted, thanks to COVID-19’s having made me a homebody for who knows how long), a woman walking her own dog paused to allow the pups to greet one another.

“It’s so hard being quarantined,” she remarked from six feet away.

“Wait, you’re quarantined?” I demanded as I hastily backed away.

“Well, like everyone…you know. Right?” She was looking at me, kind of puzzled.

“You mean ‘social distancing’?”

Yeah, I’m that person. The one who corrects you if you say “quarantine” when you mean “social distancing” ... not to be unpleasant, but because the way I see it, saying “quarantine” when you mean “social distancing” is like saying “aircraft carrier” when you mean “kayak”. And now that “COVID-19” has gone from an “outbreak” to an “epidemic” to a “pandemic,” with “confirmed cases” steadily inching toward 100,000, it’s a near certainty that when talking about the illness caused by the novel “coronavirus,” you’re going to fumble your terms, at least some of the time.

Or is it? Obnoxiously word-fixated people like me aside, there’s something to be said for knowing your coronavirus terminology, even if it’s just to make sense of the daily news updates. So, here is a glossary of terms to help you make sense of the inevitable daily information overload:

Coronavirus: One of the viruses in the family of viruses that has a spiky “crown”-like appearance under a microscope. These range in severity from the common cold to the far more deadly SARS (see definition) and MERS (see definition) viruses.

MERS: Short for Middle East Respiratory Syndrome, a highly contagious virus that was first seen and reported in Saudi Arabia during 2012

SARS: Short for Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS), a viral respiratory illness caused by a coronavirus, and which was first seen and reported in February 2003, at which time a global outbreak occurred. It was subsequently contained.

SARS-CoV-2: Another abbreviation for COVID-19. It refers to the fact that COVID-19 is a SARS illness caused by a coronavirus.

COVID-19: The World Health Organization gave this name to the illness caused by the new coronavirus that first appeared in China in late 2019. It’s short for "coronavirus disease 2019.”

Outbreak: A sudden increase in diagnoses of a particular illness.

Pandemic: An "outbreak" affecting large populations or a whole region, country, or continent (as compared to an "epidemic," which affects a particular community).

Contagious: An adjective meaning “capable of spreading an illness.” The issue with COVID-19 is the length of time during which people are “contagious,” which might be for as long as 14 days from the time they are first infected with it. See “Incubation Period” below).

Incubation Period: The incubation period is the time between exposure to an illness and actually showing symptoms. People exposed to COVID-19 can take up to 14 days to show symptoms. This long incubation period is one reason COVID-19 has spread so effectively.

Containment: This refers to the effort to limit the spread of illness. Some illnesses have been contained via vaccination, but COVID-19 has no vaccination or treatment as of yet. Therefore, “containment” is accomplished via "social distancing," “isolation,” and “quarantine” (see definitions below)

Close Contact: Being with 6 feet of another person such that a “droplet” from one person could land on the other person or something the other person is wearing or holding.

Droplet: A particle of moisture from the respiratory system. Droplets expelled by someone infected with COVID-19 can spread the COVID-19 virus to another person if that second person touches the droplet and introduces it into their own respiratory system (by touching their eyes, lips, or nose).

Airborne Transmission: This is also accomplished via droplet, but a much smaller droplet - one that is small enough to be imperceptible in the air. Most COVID-19 cases are not transmitted this way.

Confirmed Case: A person who tests positive for COVID-19 via a CDC-approved lab.

Presumptive Positive Test Result: A positive test for COVID-19 that was performed by a local or state health laboratory. Presumptive becomes “confirmed” when testing is conducted in a CDC-approved lab.

Curve: A graphic representation of the number of new cases of a disease over a given period of time. The more cases in that period of time, the steeper the curve, and the greater the burden on the healthcare system.

Face Mask: Loose-fitting paper or cloth masks that form a physical barrier between the wearer and other people, with the purpose being to prevent the wearer from spreading germs when they sneeze or cough. They also can remind the wearer not touch their face.

Respirator: For COVID-19 purposes, a respirator is not a machine to help one breathe a type of face mask that doesn’t just act as a barrier but also filters out virus particles before they can be inhaled.

N95 respirator: A respirator that filters out 95% of virus particles. This is the gold standard or healthcare workers and are in short supply now.

Ventilator: A machine that moves air in and out of the lungs in the case that a patient cannot, or is having trouble breathing on their own. Unfortunately, this happens all too often in COVID-19 cases.

Quarantine: The separation of someone who has been diagnosed with an illness, has symptoms of the illness, or has reason to believe they were exposed to the illness, from other people. The duration of a quarantine is guided by the incubation period for the particular illness. Quarantine can be imposed on a person or self-administered.

Social Distancing: Is the practice of maintaining enough distance between yourself and another person to reduce the risk of breathing in droplets that are produced when an infected person coughs or sneezes. In a community, social distancing measures may include limiting or cancelling large gatherings of people.

Shelter-in-place: Finding a safe location and staying there while the crisis continues.

Lockdown: When you see this word, please know it is not an official, technical, or legal word. Rather it’s just a word people use to a non-technical word that people use to refer to any kind of public health measures being taken to prevent the virus spreading.

Spanish Flu: You're likely, at least at some point, to hear COVID-19 compared to, and contrasted with Spanish Flu. Active between April of 1918 and December 1920, this flu, which most likely originated in China but that got its name from the nation that, at least initially, put out the most media coverage of the outbreak (this was a function of wartime politics). The scary thing is that 100 million people died worldwide. The good news is we are so much better equipped to practice social distancing one than we were back in 1918. See, for example. Exela’s Digital Mailroom allows an office to function even without a mailroom or other support staff.

State-of-emergency: Declaring a state of emergency gives government officials the authority to take extra measures to protect the public, such as suspending regulations or reallocating funds to mitigate the spread of a disease.

CDC: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (the U.S.'s health protection agency and a leading reliable source for COVID-19 updates for the U.S.).

WHO: The World Health Organization, which is an agency of the United Nations responsible for international public health.

Here at the Exela Blog, we strive to bring you only the most reliable, accurate, news that is relevant to you. Stay tuned for more COVID-19 content, including more about how to make remote working work for your company, which COVID-19 “offers” are really just scams, and best practices for remaining uninfected.