How Healthcare Has Changed Since the Arrival of COVID-19

The Covid-19 pandemic has affected much of the world, enforcing lockdowns, shutting down borders, eliminating travel, and closing businesses. The healthcare industry has especially been impacted, with staff and medical facilities preparing for cases to continue rising until the end of 2020. In this article, we will take a look at how the healthcare industry has changed since the arrival of COVID-19. Let’s get started.

COVID-19: An infectious disease, COVID-19, can make both animals and humans sick, with symptoms similar to that of the common flu. In more severe cases, it can lead to further respiratory illnesses and even death.

In many cases, it presents itself as a sore throat, fever, and cough, but it has shown to affect some individuals differently. Currently, there is no known cure, but recent research has shown promises.

Statistics: As of the 16th August 2020, there have been a reported 21.3 million cases worldwide, with 13.3 million recoveries and 767 thousand deaths. The United States has the most confirmed cases, sitting at 5.44 million. Brazil falls close behind with 3.32 million.

While there is no way to predict the future of this disease, some experts believe that we are due to have a second wave.

Digital alternatives

One of the first changes that has been made to healthcare systems around the world is the integrating of digital alternatives, known as telehealth, and telemedicine, to help inform the public about the virus. Instead of individuals calling up or visiting the local GP unnecessarily, they can now check their symptoms online through various applications, to determine if they need to be tested. On top of that, results from the testing are sent via email to minimize exposure to healthcare workers and other patients.

Government authorities have also set up ways to identify the various hotspots around the world, making it much easier to determine which locations to avoid. These applications, combined with the news media, has played a significant role in reducing the number of cases.

Pop up/drive-through facilities

To cope with the high number of cases, many countries have also set up various drive through testing centers to minimize the capacity in hospitals and medical centers. While the process itself only takes around 10 minutes, the number of cars can cause some individuals to sit in traffic for hours. You can find a testing center near you by checking online.

Alongside these locations, pop-up hospitals have also made an arrival, since there aren’t enough hospital beds to cater for the number of cases. While it can cost millions of dollars to fund such a facility, it has been a vital step to help with treating affected patients.

Elective surgeries

To cope with the number of COVID-19 cases, many hospitals have made the decision to suspend elective surgeries temporarily, to focus on those in need. While some locations that have shown a decline in cases have now opened these services back up, individuals are concerned about going forward and rebooking their appointments. This may have a future impact on many medical facilities unless strategies are implemented to protect and inform patients.

Hospital capacity management

For extra safety, many hospitals are trying to separate their COVID-19 affected patients from their regular patients, which has caused a change in their capacity management. While some medical staff are trying to find extra capacity, others are trying to reduce it, for the safety of their team and patients.

This capacity management has led to varying opinions, causing concerns and worries by workers. Especially since there are so many other patients with treatable conditions, unrelated to the pandemic.

To assist with this, doctors are utilizing telehealth facilities to check on patients with minor symptoms at home in isolation. This then saves hospital beds for those in need.

Mental health impact on nurses and doctors

While many individuals are concerned about the mental health impact social distancing is having, the effect has been equally devastating on our healthcare workers, nurses, and doctors. These individuals are exposing themselves on a daily basis and are putting the needs of others before their own. In fact, many medical students have also been thrown into the field to cope with the rising capacity.

Alongside the day to day stress of hospital life, with the high demand and change in policies, protective gear purchases have been extensive. High-quality scrubs, masks, and gloves are required more than ever, causing companies to work extra hard to be able to provide these various products. Some locations are even having to source this equipment externally from other countries, which take more time and money.

Revaluation of policies and procedures

The current pandemic has opened up many fault lines across the healthcare industry, and this has caused a mass revaluation of polices and procedures. Things that were once done are now being frowned upon, and new health and safety training is being undertaken.

While it’s impossible to determine if these changes will be permanent or not, it’s still made quite an impact on staffing arrangements and medical procedures.

Prioritization of mental and physical wellbeing

While talking about mental health has always been important, the current pandemic has allowed many individuals to open up about their condition, reducing the stigma altogether. In fact, many patients are now prioritizing their wellbeing, resulting in an increase of doctors’ visits about mental health illnesses.

Many services are beginning to shift their priorities to handle this by coming up with new services and information. This has led mental health support to be more available than ever, with online options for those in self-isolation.

When taking all of the above into consideration, it’s easy to see the many changes that this pandemic has had on the healthcare industry. However, it’s unknown if these changes will have significant lasting effects. With some experts predicting hospital closures, and health insurance demands, only time will be able to tell the real impact. What do you think the future of our healthcare industry will?

This article does not necessarily reflect the opinions of the editors or management of EconoTimes