Coronavirus Will Have Long-Lasting Impacts on the U.S. Health Care System —And the Poorest Will Suffer Most

When Dr. Mark Lewis has to tell a cancer patient they’re dying, he tries to do so as compassionately as possible, usually offering a hug or a hand to hold. The thought of doing so by phone, he says, once felt heartbreakingly impersonal. But in the face of the current COVID-19 pandemic, the Salt Lake City-based gastrointestinal oncologist has had to do many things that make his “conscience weigh heavy.” He’s delivered bad news virtually, to limit the possibility of spreading the virus. He’s delayed chemotherapy for patients who—he hopes—can wait, knowing the treatment would wipe out their immune systems at a high-risk time. He’s made the opposite choice for patients with cancer spreading faster than coronavirus. Each time, all he can do is hope he’s gambled well. Welcome to medicine in the age of COVID-19. The worsening coronavirus epidemic in the U.S. has upended the country’s medical system. It has led to system-wide disruptions that physicians say are necessary for combatting the immediate, un-ignorable threat of COVID-19—but that may, by default, force patients who do not have coronavirus to shoulder a heavy burden. Those with chronic conditions will have to fight harder to get the care they need, not only now but also after the outbreak ends, when hospitals are left to deal with backlogs from appointments canceled en masse. Anyone with the misfortune to get into a car accident or have a heart attack during...
Source: TIME: Health - Category: Consumer Health News Authors: Tags: Uncategorized COVID-19 Magazine Source Type: news