Doctors are begging the public for basic protective equipment. Us. The United States of America. Supposedly the most advanced, most privileged nation in the world. We are in a pandemic dumpster fire. There has been no centralized movement to tackle th…
It began last week in our neighborhood, between the locals, who, out for a breath of fresh air, and dutifully in line with the new social distancing rules, began to shout back and forth through the crisp March air. “Good morning! I hope you’re well!” “…
In light of the COVID-19 pandemic, people across the country are grappling with the question, “What and who is essential?” Instructions to reduce non-essential activity hit differently in crisis compared to our normal mindset that our day-p…
For thousands of years, medicine was an in-person enterprise. Patients with mysterious symptoms or requiring complex interventions traveled days to obtain an expert opinion. At times, Medicine appears to be nostalgic for these days now past; as society…
The conversations we’ve had with physicians this week confirmed that the primal fight-or-flight response has kicked in as physicians across the nation recognize the COVID-19 pandemic as an imminent threat to the survival of their practices. Some are re…
These days are getting harder. Today I heard about physicians getting intubated. I heard about physicians having to make the decision to separate from their children indefinitely. I heard about health care workers who officially ran out of PPE. I heard…
I roll in my bed, unable to sleep. I listen to BBC talk about the craziness that took over the world, preoccupied with this one question. What question? It’s not: “Why, Corona?” For that, I already have more answers than I want. Scientists say that COV…
It took a 125-nanometer virus only a few weeks to move American health care from the twentieth to the twenty-first century. This had nothing to do with science or technology, and only to a small degree was it due to public interest or demand, which had…
I am an anesthesiologist who practices in Omaha, Nebraska at a large university. Our institution is preparing around the clock to care for our community in the midst of the COVID-19 virus. We are all coming together – doctors, scientists, nurses, techn…
Inside, as usual, patient beds are near capacity, and the emergency department is filled with not only the usual mix of patients with trauma, stroke, chest pain, and other concerns, but also dozens of people worried they might have COVID-19. I am an em…
