In the same week that physicians at the University of California-San Francisco medical center were wiping down and reusing protective equipment like masks and gowns to conserve resources amid a surge of COVID-19 patients, 90 miles away teams of doctors at UC Davis Medical Center were fully suited up performing breast augmentations, hip replacements and other elective procedures that likely could have been postponed.
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The divergent responses underscore not only the disparities in supply stockpiles from hospital to hospital, but also a lack of coordination — even at a regional level — in getting equipment and medical care where it’s needed.
Gerald Kominski, a professor at the UCLA Center for Health Policy Research, was among the experts interviewed who found it troubling that hospitals would continue to perform elective surgeries in the face of the coronavirus threat, both because of the toll on scarce national supplies and because it puts staff and patients at unnecessary risk of exposure.
“It seems unconscionable, regardless of the motive, in my judgment,” Kominski said. “[Hospitals] are ignoring the restrictions on unnecessary public interactions, placing their staff and patients at greater risk.”
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Some experts said they could understand the reluctance to shut down elective surgeries. Hospitals rely on these lucrative procedures to stay afloat in an industry that often operates with narrow margins.
“Hospitals maybe shouldn’t do elective surgeries because it’s not in the public interest. But there’s the immediate problem of ‘How will I pay my staff if I can’t do all these lucrative surgeries? I don’t want to lay them off at a time of crisis,’” said Leemore Dafny, a Harvard Business School professor who studies the health care industry.
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“It’s frustrating because this doesn’t appear to be a decision in the best interest of the patients or the providers,” said one UC Davis physician who works in perioperative services and asked that his name not be used for fear of job repercussions. “Many of my colleagues have protested, but they’re falling on deaf ears.”
My brother had top surgery postponed, mostly because the hospital he was scheduled for is running point in our area for covid19 triage. He understands that they need the bed and getting infected...
My brother had top surgery postponed, mostly because the hospital he was scheduled for is running point in our area for covid19 triage. He understands that they need the bed and getting infected while immunocompromised is bad news, but if he had the option to schedule at another hospital, he would probably do it.
From the article:
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My brother had top surgery postponed, mostly because the hospital he was scheduled for is running point in our area for covid19 triage. He understands that they need the bed and getting infected while immunocompromised is bad news, but if he had the option to schedule at another hospital, he would probably do it.