'What about us?': Frontline primary care practices fear for survival amid coronavirus

Autumn Road Family Practice in Little Rock, Arkansas, thought it had a plan in place to weather the coronavirus pandemic. The six-provider practice, which has been in business for half a century serving its close-knit community, began to gather personal protective equipment for workers and ask patients screening questions through its call center and front desk. Autumn Road had a partner meeting March 12, a Thursday, to update its response to the budding coronavirus outbreak in Little Rock, including the first patient testing positive in its offices. But things changed dramatically in a matter of days. "We came in Monday morning and it was like a whole new world," Tabitha Childers, Autumn Road's clinic administrator, told Healthcare Dive. "All of a sudden our patients are canceling their appointments ... About Wednesday we just realized that the finances are quickly failing. Thursday we made a list of what we could cut."