Albany Medical Center, Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, Albany, NY.
Beth Israel Lahey Health, Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, Burlington, MA.
J Arthroplasty. 2020 Jul;35(7S):S32-S36. doi: 10.1016/j.arth.2020.04.038. Epub 2020 Apr 18.
The economic effects of the COVID-19 crisis are not like anything the U.S. health care system has ever experienced.
As we begin to emerge from the peak of the COVID-19 pandemic, we need to plan the sustainable resumption of elective procedures. We must first ensure the safety of our patients and surgical staff. It must be a priority to monitor the availability of supplies for the continued care of patients suffering from COVID-19. As we resume elective orthopedic surgery and total joint arthroplasty, we must begin to reduce expenses by renegotiating vendor contracts, use ambulatory surgery centers and hospital outpatient departments in a safe and effective manner, adhere to strict evidence-based and COVID-19-adjusted practices, and incorporate telemedicine and other technology platforms when feasible for health care systems and orthopedic groups to survive economically.
The return to normalcy will be slow and may be different than what we are accustomed to, but we must work together to plan a transition to a more sustainable health care reality which accommodates a COVID-19 world.
Our goal should be using these lessons to achieve a healthy and successful 2021 fiscal year.
COVID-19 危机的经济影响是美国医疗体系从未经历过的。
随着我们开始从 COVID-19 大流行的高峰期中走出来，我们需要计划可持续地恢复择期手术。我们必须首先确保患者和外科医护人员的安全。监测 COVID-19 持续治疗患者所需供应品的可用性必须是重中之重。当我们恢复择期矫形外科手术和全关节置换术时，我们必须通过重新谈判供应商合同开始降低成本，以安全有效的方式使用门诊手术中心和医院门诊部门，坚持严格基于证据和 COVID-19 调整的实践，并在可行的情况下整合远程医疗和其他技术平台，以帮助医疗系统和矫形外科团体在经济上生存。
恢复正常状态将是缓慢的，可能与我们习惯的有所不同，但我们必须共同努力，规划向更可持续的医疗现实的过渡，以适应 COVID-19 世界。
我们的目标应该是利用这些经验教训在 2021 财年实现健康和成功。
