Mitigating the COVID Crisis in the ER
What can be done to mitigate the COVID-19 type crisis in America's emergency rooms? To mitigate the COVID-19 crisis in America's emergency rooms, several actions can be taken. First, increasing the number of hospital beds and staffing levels can aid in managing the high demand for medical care. This can be done through the construction of temporary facilities and the recruitment of healthcare workers from outside the region (Berlinger, 2020). Second, strengthening the supply chain for personal protective equipment (PPE) and other medical supplies can ensure that healthcare workers have the resources they need to safely care for patients. This can involve partnerships with private industry to increase production and distribution of essential items. Third, improving access to COVID-19 testing can help to slow the spread of the virus and reduce the number of hospitalizations. This can be done through expanding the availability of testing, reducing the time it takes to get test results, and making testing more accessible to underserved communities.
Fourth, and perhaps most importantly, expanding the use of telemedicine can help to reduce the number of patients seeking care in emergency rooms, as well as reducing the risk of exposure to COVID-19 for both patients and healthcare workers. This can involve providing financial incentives for patients to use telemedicine services, as well as training healthcare providers in the use of telemedicine technology (Rockwell & Gilroy, 2020).
Overall, a comprehensive and coordinated response is needed to mitigate the COVID-19 crisis in America's emergency rooms. This will require collaboration among healthcare providers, government agencies, and the private sector, as well as support from the public. Ultimately, providing adequate financial support to healthcare providers and hospitals can be the biggest help to ensure that they have the resources they need to care for patients and respond to the crisis. This can involve government funding for healthcare providers, as well as insurance reimbursement for telemedicine services.
References
Berlinger, N., Wynia, M., Powell, T., Hester, D. M., Milliken, A., Fabi, R., & Jenks, N.
P. (2020). Ethical framework for health care institutions responding to novel Coronavirus SARS-CoV-2 (COVID-19) guidelines for institutional ethics services responding to COVID-19.The Hastings Center,12.
Rockwell, K. L., & Gilroy, A. S. (2020). Incorporating telemedicine as part of COVID-
19 outbreak response systems.Am J Manag Care,26(4), 147-148.
