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With spring comes an increase in those suffering from allergies—approximately 40 percent of the population suffers from allergic rhinitis, and many of them will be visiting their primary care physicians (PCP) to find solutions. So how do today’s busy PCPs decide on new practice-enhancing and patient-care treatments—or is it still the same old approach for allergy suffers?
 
One new solution to the widespread allergy problem that is having a positive impact on both pediatric and family practices, as well as benefiting practice revenue, is the AllergiEnd™ skin testing and treatment system, which enables doctors to easily perform allergy testing within their own offices in minutes.
 
Practice managers are often the first to be exposed to new products and services and can be instrumental in helping physicians choose which new offerings to add to their practices. “We’ve been using the AllergiEnd™ system for over a month now, which we introduced because our patients were eager to know what allergens they were sensitive to,” explained Linda Downes, partner and practice manager at Dr. John Strausbaugh Family Medicine in Fort Myers, FL. “Our business mission is to help care for and treat the health care needs of our patients, and Dr. Strausbaugh, our medical director and senior partner, confirmed that AllergiEnd’s™ diagnostic and immunotherapy system ticked that crucial box.”
 
Because the test results come back so quickly—within 15 to 20 minutes—patients are able to begin therapy right away. Once the allergen causing a patient’s reaction is determined, the physician can immediately prescribe an oral form of immunotherapy, bypassing the need for regularly scheduled injections. “Our patients like the ease of using sublingual immunotherapy as opposed to getting injections at a doctor’s office,” said Downes, “and the best part is that they are offered a cure, as opposed to a lifetime of just suppressing their allergic reactions.”
 
Before introducing AllergiEnd™ to their patients, Downes did a lot of research to determine if it was right for the practice. “I made inquiries with Medicare and general insurance companies to make sure that this procedure would be reimbursed, and received 100 percent confirmation that we would be paid for providing this service to our patients,” she said.
 
“I also spoke with another allergy testing company sales representative during the due diligence process who wanted us to sign a long-term contract with minimum monthly orders,” she added. “We were never going to make a commitment like that, especially when this was a new service for our office. AllergiEnd™ has no long term contracts and no major upfront costs, which is a definite plus given the uncertainty around health care reform today.”
 
AllergiEnd™ provided in-service installation and training for Downes and four of the practice’s nurses and medical assistants. “I wanted to make sure that the AllergiEnd™ system would not overwhelm our already very busy staff,” she said. “Now it has become an integral part of our business and we are very happy to be helping our patients live a healthier and happier life.”
 
Evelyn Garza, practice administrator at Personal Pediatric Care in Trinity, FL, was also impressed by the training that their staff received. “AllergiEnd™ is very easy to understand and it didn’t take at all long for us to learn how to use it,” she said. “AllergiEnd™ let us pick our times for training, and the trainer was very supportive. We learned what we needed to do in one session that was probably 20 minutes in total as far as the actual procedure goes.”
 
Personal Pediatric Care has been using AllergiEnd™ for the last six months with positive results. “We’ve got happy parents and happy kids,” said Garza. “It’s not like putting a needle in the skin, so we’ve had no issues with kids saying ‘it hurts’—it’s gone really smoothly.” Families also appreciate that sublingual therapy eliminates the need for shots in most cases.
 
“Our patients really appreciate that they don’t have to take their children to a different office with a new doctor and another copay,” she added. “And we are able to get them in quickly, because we schedule these tests at the end of the day after our last sick or well visits.”
 
On the practice side, Garza says reimbursement has gone smoothly as well. “There have been no denials for payment; it’s actually been quite lucrative and well worth the investment. It’s been one of the better things that we’ve ventured into; it’s been good for us and for our patients.”