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The role of doctors during covid-19
“Workers at several hospitals, including the Jacobi Medical Center in the Bronx, said employees such as obstetrician-gynecologists and radiologists have been called to work in emergency wards,” the NYT report said.
If the rest of the nation follows behind New York, you might find yourself in a similar position, especially since the healthcare system is already contending with a physician shortage. Here’s what you might be able to do to help in the response to COVID-19.Though most aren’t directly treating COVID-19 positive patients, oncologists still have to think critically about the virus. Many chemotherapy drugs are immunosuppressant, putting cancer patients at an increased risk for coronavirus infection. Oncologists must make difficult decisions, weighing the risks of delaying treatments against the risk of potential viral infection.
As the pandemic stretches on, we might see oncologists with diminished caseloads work outside of their comfort zones. It’s likely many of you would be comfortable handling basic emergency medical cases, or monitoring COVID-19 patients.Psychiatrists
Perhaps the secondary pandemic to COVID-19 will be a mental health epidemic. Many Americans are contending with heightened stress levels and feelings of isolation as they’re asked to quarantine. This may be especially difficult for patients with pre-existing mental health issues. Moreover, prior to the COVID-19 outbreak, Americans were already contending with a loneliness epidemic.
Plus, there’s the mental health of those diagnosed with COVID-19 to think of. A positive diagnosis may prompt runaway thoughts and fears of pain, suffering, and death. Families of the sick will also require support. Psychiatrists will have a vital role in addressing the mental health burden of COVID-19.
Internists and Family Practitioners
Early in the pandemic, it seemed like IM and FM physicians would have more direct involvement in managing patients. However, it appears that mobile collection sites, for the most part, may be keeping patients out of private practices. Many are managing positive diagnosis at home and only turning to in-patient settings if symptoms spiral out of control.
IM and FM physicians with admitting privileges may be able to lend a hand at hospitals and clinics. If the rest of the country follows in the footsteps of New York, hospitals could be overrun, creating an all-hands-on-deck scenario for HCPs. IM and FM physicians could help manage COVID-19 and non-COVID-19 cases, calling in specialists as needed.
Neurologists
Right now, it also appears that COVID-19 may infect neurons, causing loss of smell and taste, according to preliminary data. Be vigilant with patients who present with these symptoms and recommend testing for coronavirus if possible. Whether this is universal and whether there are long term effects on the nervous system remain to be seen.
Similarly to oncologists, neurologists will have to juggle their existing cases with possibly pitching in to relieve strained hospital colleagues. Once again, telehealth is your friend here. You can use it to manage your patients who need routine, maintenance care. This will give you greater bandwidth to possibly assist with the COVID-19 response while maintaining a sense of normalcy for your patients.
Gastroenterologists
Gastros may have a direct role to play in COVID-19 care. More severe cases are presenting with GI distress, so your expertise may be required. Plus, you have your own patients to worry about. Like the neurologists, you might want to embrace telehealth to manage your patients when possible.
And like oncologists, some of those patients may be immunocompromised. Earlier this week, a paper published in Clinical Gastroenterology and Hepatology advised the use of PPE during endoscopies, as the GI tract may be a route of infection. Researchers also noted that COVID-19 patients may experience abnormal liver function.
Pulmonologists, ENTs, Ophthalmologists
These specialists need to take the same precautionary measures around patients they’re seeing in person as hospitalists dealing with confirmed cases, and be on the lookout for symptomatic patients who have yet to be tested for infection. Based on the symptoms that your patients suffer from, you may need to consider a COVID-19 diagnosis. This includes symptoms such as the obvious coughing, fatigue, loss of breath, but also loss of taste and smell. Recently, it’s also been found that some COVID-19 patients can present with conjunctivitis, and the virus can possibly be transmitted through aerosol contact.