Journal of the American College of Radiology : JACR
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The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID 2019) pandemic has presented myriad challenges to an underprepared health care system. Health care providers are facing unprecedented acute workplace stress compounded by a high baseline rate of physician burnout. This article discusses the relationship between acute stress disorder, posttraumatic stress disorder, and burnout through a literature review focusing on the mental health impact on health care providers after prior epidemics and natural disasters. We offer both a framework for understanding the mental health impact of the COVID-19 epidemic on physicians while proposing a systems based model to respond to these challenges.
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The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has had significant economic impact on radiology with markedly decreased imaging case volumes. The purpose of this study was to quantify the imaging volumes during the COVID-19 pandemic across patient service locations and imaging modality types. ⋯ Because the duration of the COVID-19 pandemic remains uncertain, these results may assist in guiding short- and long-term practice decisions based on the magnitude of imaging volume decline across different patient service locations and specific imaging modality types.
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The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has reduced radiology volumes across the country as providers have decreased elective care to minimize the spread of infection and free up health care delivery system capacity. After the stay-at-home order was issued in our county, imaging volumes at our institution decreased to approximately 46% of baseline volumes, similar to the experience of other radiology practices. ⋯ We hypothesize that there are six major variables that will likely predict radiology volumes: (1) severity of disease in the local region, including potential subsequent "waves" of infection; (2) lifting of government social distancing restrictions; (3) patient concern regarding risk of leaving home and entering imaging facilities; (4) management of pent-up demand for imaging delayed during the acute phase of the pandemic, including institutional capacity; (5) impact of the economic downturn on health insurance and ability to pay for imaging; and (6) radiology practice profile reflecting amount of elective imaging performed, including type of patients seen by the radiology practice such as emergency, inpatient, outpatient mix and subspecialty types. We encourage radiology practice leaders to use these and other relevant variables to plan for the coming weeks and to work collaboratively with local health system and governmental leaders to help ensure that needed patient care is restored as quickly as the environment will safely permit.
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Practice Guideline
Management of Lung Nodules and Lung Cancer Screening During the COVID-19 Pandemic: CHEST Expert Panel Report.
The risks from potential exposure to coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), and resource reallocation that has occurred to combat the pandemic, have altered the balance of benefits and harms that informed current (pre-COVID-19) guideline recommendations for lung cancer screening and lung nodule evaluation. Consensus statements were developed to guide clinicians managing lung cancer screening programs and patients with lung nodules during the COVID-19 pandemic. ⋯ There was consensus that during the COVID-19 pandemic, it is appropriate to defer enrollment in lung cancer screening and modify the evaluation of lung nodules due to the added risks from potential exposure and the need for resource reallocation. There are multiple local, regional, and patient-related factors that should be considered when applying these statements to individual patient care.