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Reflections on courage in the midst of a pandemic
Keith Carlson Medical & Allied HealthcarePublic health crises have frequently arisen during the late 20th and early 21st centuries, including SARS, MERS, Ebola, HIV/AIDS, H1N1, and now COVID-19. A pandemic of this magnitude has not reared its ugly head since 1918, and there are only a handful of living centenarians who remember that deadly year. Whether considering the current coronavirus response in terms of economics; local, tribal, state, or federal government; patient care; public health; mitigation; scientific research; essential services; acute care; or primary care, courage is a central pillar of our individual and collective efforts.
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Searching for COVID-19 treatments: The RECOVERY trial
Dorothy L. Tengler PharmaceuticalIn December 2019, with less than 500 confirmed COVID-19 cases worldwide, a small trial was initiated at the Jin-Tan Hospital to investigate whether anti-viral drugs would relieve the symptoms of COVID-19. The findings from this study will be part of the new Randomised Evaluation of COVid-19 thERapY (RECOVERY) trial, which provides a platform to evaluate about 20 treatments that are currently thought to have potential for treating COVID-19. The chief investigator in the RECOVERY trial will be Peter Horby, Professor of Emerging Infectious Diseases and Global Health in the Nuffield Department of Medicine at the University of Oxford, who was also part of the small trial in Wuhan. In contrast to the usual six to nine months for a trial to get started, the RECOVERY trial enrolled the first patient in nine days.
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Could the pandemic mark the end of surprise medical billing?
Scott E. Rupp Healthcare AdministrationThe White House has said "no" to surprise billing for patients receiving treatment for COVID-19, and hospitals agreeing to accept money as part of the $2 trillion stimulus bill must agree not to engage in the practice. Surprise billing happens when a patient with health insurance is treated at an out-of-network hospital or when an out-of-network doctor assists with the procedure at the hospital. Bills for such services can range from hundreds to tens of thousands of dollars.
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The danger in believing it ‘won’t happen here’
Linda Popky Business Management, Services & Risk ManagementAn enemy like the COVID-19 pandemic recognizes no borders. Yet, the spread of the virus is not occurring at an even level from country to country, or even from state to state in the U.S. While some areas made aggressive, proactive moves, others have been slow to react. I call this phenomenon Won’t Happen Here (WHH) Syndrome. WHH is not limited to pandemics. We see this kind of reaction to natural disasters (including wildfires, hurricanes, or flood), to political unrest, and even to changes in technology or market conditions.
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Infographic: The social impact of mixing business and medicine
Brian Wallace Medical & Allied HealthcareThough the United States has one of the most expensive healthcare systems in the world, it is far from achieving the best outcomes in the world. This infographic outlines the hidden impact of mixing business with medicine, as evidenced by the drastic shortage of PPE and other necessities in the wake of COVID-19.
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Thinking critically about COVID-19, public health, and our erratic response
Keith Carlson Medical & Allied HealthcareIn these days of the COVID-19 pandemic, there is a great deal of commonly held focus on hobbled supply chains, widespread lack of PPE, the egregiously defunded American public health system, and other ills that negatively impact our ability to mitigate and respond to this existential crisis. While this writer in no way claims to have deep knowledge of healthcare economics and related policy, the obvious fact is that something is wrong when a country largely perceived to be a "global superpower" cannot effectively launch and sustain a concerted, cohesive response to such a threat. Something is indeed amiss, so how can we think critically about this lamentable turn of events?
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Treating COVID-19-related respiratory failure with an anticoagulant: A…
Dorothy L. Tengler Medical & Allied HealthcareAs the novel coronavirus enters lung cells, it starts to replicate, destroying the cells, resulting in the most common complication of COVID-19, acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS). Because of this complication, ventilators have become the single most important piece of equipment in the fight to sustain these patients. A compassionate use trial is currently enrolling COVID-19 patients with ARDS to evaluate both inhaled and intravenous treatment with a common anti-clotting drug approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for treating ischemic thrombotic stroke. Researchers have long considered anticoagulants to reduce ARDS-induced death, but the treatment was never adopted or formally approved by the FDA.
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Americans are concerned they can’t afford coronavirus care
Scott E. Rupp Medical & Allied HealthcareDuring the coronavirus crisis, Americans have plenty of fears about the virus and their health and well-being, a new Kaiser Family Foundation survey says. In it, 39% of those who responded also said they are facing financial strife and that they had either lost a job or some income because of the virus. While there are efforts in place to protect citizens financially, patients' fears about being able to afford care because of a lack of financial means may not be unfounded.
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Urine tests can predict transplanted kidney rejection
Chelsea Adams Medical & Allied HealthcareTwo new methodologies offer promise in predicting kidney failure using a simple urine test instead of a biopsy. University of California, San Francisco researchers say a urine test they have developed would eliminate the need for an invasive biopsy to determine the chances of organ rejection. What's more, monitoring kidney health with a urine sample makes it much easier to identify a problem before the organ suffers irreparable damage. The findings appeared in the March 18 issue of Science Translational Medicine.
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Can AI predict which COVID-19 patients are at greatest risk of severe complications?
Tammy Hinojos Medical & Allied HealthcareFrom news anchors to medical experts put on camera every evening, it seems everyone has an interest in identifying the profile of who will and won't become extremely ill (or worse) if infected with COVID-19, the disease caused by coronavirus. At present, no one knows for sure. But more information is becoming available daily and researchers are working hard to find answers. An international research team has designed a computer program that can predict, with up to 80% accuracy, which COVID-19 patients will develop serious respiratory disease.
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