Category: Doctors

‘It’s Like Walking Into Chernobyl,’ One Doctor Says Of Her Emergency Room

Lack of protective gear and fears about all the unknown aspects of COVID-19 are parts of the mosaic of stress facing doctors and nurses on the front lines of the pandemic.

‘Baby, I Can’t Breathe’: America’s First ER Doctor To Die In Heat Of COVID-19 Battle

Frank Gabrin knew the stakes of his job. What he found unsettling was having to reuse personal protective gear while caring for coronavirus patients.

Nursing Homes Have Thousands Of Ventilators That Hospitals Desperately Need

The prospect raises a grim dilemma: Should doctors take people off life support in order to save COVID-19 patients who might recover?

Dispatch From A Country Doctor: Seeing Patients Differently In The Time Of Coronavirus

Emergency rule changes by the federal government and some insurers have made telemedicine a useful tool.

After COVID-19: Doctors Ponder Best Advice As Patients Recover From Coronavirus

Doctors are making decisions about a patient’s recovery with an incomplete understanding of the disease caused by the coronavirus. Although federal officials have issued general guidelines, physicians said they can’t offer recovered patients who aren’t retested any guarantees about whether they could transmit the virus.

Must-Reads Of The Week From Brianna Labuskes

Newsletter editor Brianna Labuskes wades through hundreds of health care policy stories each week, so you don’t have to.

More Than 5,000 Surgery Centers Can Now Serve As Makeshift Hospitals During COVID-19 Crisis

Under pressure, the federal government announced it will let surgery centers, hotels and even college dorms serve as hospitals to treat an overflow of patients.

Already Taxed Health Care Workers Not ‘Immune’ From Layoffs And Less Pay

Revenue is way down for primary care, specialty physicians and some hospitals as patients avoid non-urgent visits. Practices small and large are doling out layoffs and furloughs to staff.

The Nation’s 5,000 Outpatient Surgery Centers Could Help With The COVID-19 Overflow

A coalition of anesthesiologists wants to repurpose the country’s more than 5,000 surgery centers to serve as emergency overflow amid the coronavirus pandemic. The centers have trained medical staff largely sitting idle, anesthesia machines that could be turned into ventilators, and empty medical space. But obstacles such as federal payment rules, logistics and some skepticism are getting in the way.

Help Wanted: Retired Doctors And Nurses Don Scrubs Again In Coronavirus Fight

As they prepare for an onslaught of coronavirus patients, health officials in New York and other states urge retired medical professionals to rejoin the ranks.