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I can imagine the healthcare system going 2 different ways in the wake of #COVID19. https://twitter.com/MeetThePress/status/1248224896083247104
The first is the optimistic scenario: increased #telehealth & #digitalhealth, increased equity in access to care, increased funding of the country's vital (& underfunded) #publichealth infrastructure.
We're already seeing beautiful health exemplars of innovation in response to #COVID19 crises. Some of these are well-funded; others like http://GetUsPPE.org @getusppe are developed thru grassroots partnerships between tech & healthcare.
https://www.covidx.org/covid19-open-innovation-index
https://www.covidx.org/covid19-open-innovation-index
But there's a darker possibility - one that is quite likely.
Already, hospitals & clinics are cutting salaries for frontline healthcare workers. Some clinics have shut their doors & told their staff to file for unemployment. https://www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2020/04/02/826232423/covid-19-hits-some-health-care-workers-with-pay-cuts-and-layoffs
Already, hospitals & clinics are cutting salaries for frontline healthcare workers. Some clinics have shut their doors & told their staff to file for unemployment. https://www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2020/04/02/826232423/covid-19-hits-some-health-care-workers-with-pay-cuts-and-layoffs
Rural & safety net hospitals are going to be hit hardest. (The former have fewer reserves, even in good times.)
"What keeps me up at night is I'm watching a staff that has already had its resilience tested because of the great financial challenges." https://www.npr.org/2020/04/04/827435996/rural-hospital-ceo-preps-for-rise-in-covid-19-cases
"What keeps me up at night is I'm watching a staff that has already had its resilience tested because of the great financial challenges." https://www.npr.org/2020/04/04/827435996/rural-hospital-ceo-preps-for-rise-in-covid-19-cases
Here's an equally heartbreaking story about community health centers in Massachusetts.
For those who don't know, the CHCs are the bedrock of health care for low-income & otherwise vulnerable communities. https://www.wbur.org/commonhealth/2020/04/06/community-hospitals-furlough-staff-revenue-losses
For those who don't know, the CHCs are the bedrock of health care for low-income & otherwise vulnerable communities. https://www.wbur.org/commonhealth/2020/04/06/community-hospitals-furlough-staff-revenue-losses
We'll see docs - who already bear ridiculous student loans - decide to leave the profession.
We'll see nurses, furloughed despite putting their health at risk, deciding to do something different.
We'll see patients unable to get care.
We'll see nurses, furloughed despite putting their health at risk, deciding to do something different.
We'll see patients unable to get care.
In this dystopian scenario, our existing, limited #healthcare system will be gutted by this crisis. We will not have beds or resources for the majority of Americans. We will see an already inequitable system get much, much, much worse.
I'm enthused by the possibility of the utopian scenario, and promise to work my hardest to get us there. Bills like the stimulus package may help: https://www.modernhealthcare.com/politics-policy/covid-19-economic-stimulus-deal-passes-senate-billions-hospital-funding
But I'm very very worried that the dystopian will prevail.
But I'm very very worried that the dystopian will prevail.
More on this topic from @washingtonpost in case you want a more authoritative source than my tweets :) - hot off the press!
Hospitals & clinics are in real trouble. https://www.washingtonpost.com/health/starved-for-cash-hospitals-and-doctor-groups-cut-staff-amid-pandemic/2020/04/09/d3593f54-79a7-11ea-a130-df573469f094_story.html
Hospitals & clinics are in real trouble. https://www.washingtonpost.com/health/starved-for-cash-hospitals-and-doctor-groups-cut-staff-amid-pandemic/2020/04/09/d3593f54-79a7-11ea-a130-df573469f094_story.html
