Cash-strapped GPs forced to turn to online fundraising: US
Practices, like the Bent Tree Family Physicians in Dallas, are begging for help with payroll and - in some cases - doctors are seeking funds to help with their own recovery from COVID-19
Family medicine doctors in the US are turning to online fundraising in a desperate bid to keep their practices afloat during the COVID-19 crisis.
Pleas for money to help pay staff and keep practice doors open are springing up on fundraising platform GoFundMe as patient numbers plummet due to the pandemic.
Some of the campaigns are being set up by patients, with one raising more than $146,000 (US$96,000) for a Dallas practice struggling to stay open for its 25,000 patients.
Like many practices seeking out the kindness of strangers, Bent Tree Family Physicians was unable to obtain a loan under a government payroll protections scheme because funds for the program had dried up.
