“Clinicians who participate in the guidelines process can help argue for more specific guidance and perhaps suggest that the guidance should vary by setting of care,” she said. “So, while ventilators and hospital beds are in short supply, other types of care may have capacity.”
“Clinicians should be aware that there are two sorts of themes around COVID: saving supply of scarce resources for those patients with the greatest need or greatest likelihood of benefit and protecting patients from risks of healthcare-related infection,” she added. “Taking time to consider the ‘why’ is important. For example, some people might avoid going to the doctor out of worry that they will become infected with COVID. Other patients might have scheduled appointments postponed because the hospital is trying to conserve PPE.”
“For cancer,” she said, “there can very definitely be a price associated with delayed care — especially for people who have symptoms.”
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