(Newswire.net — April 30, 2020) —
The COVID-19 outbreak has placed health professionals under a microscope. There has been a lot of debate on how healthcare professionals and governing officials should handle this ongoing crisis. All areas of healthcare have been affected by the virus, and anesthesia management is no different. Below is a discussion about how COVID-19 is tied to anesthesia and the operative measures hospitals and care facilities are taking to make a dent in virus containment.
The Need to Share
One of the most cited and published headlines devotes to the idea of ventilators. Ventilators are used to open the lungs and provide large amounts of oxygen regulation. The need for ventilators is due to the tendencies of the virus, which compromises the immune system. With the short supply of ventilators on the market, health professionals and physicians have had to turn to alternative measures to operate effectively.
One of the suggested alternatives was to transition to anesthesia machines. Anesthesia machines contain the operative pieces needed to operate as a ventilator, calling for outcry for immediate transition. The transition process has been dwelling due to the differing stance placed on the transition. The CDC has given hospitals and care facilities the right to use these devices at their discretion, which calls to attention the need by need basis. Many health care systems are still performing basic surgeries, but the push-back of non-essential surgeries is leaving this transition in the balance.
If it is in the best interest of the hospital or care facility, the transition to sharing these devices is being performed. If there is a case to be made against transition, there might be a course for stalling. There is a thin line between the two sides, but the decision remains within the hands of the health care facility as to whether or not they transition their anesthesia devices to be used to treat COVID-19 patients.
Patients Seeking Care
There are a few tendencies that should be discussed surrounding procedures involving the use of anesthesia. In some cases, surgeries cannot be postponed for a later date. Crucial surgeries or invasive surgeries are still being performed to better the life of non-coronavirus patients. While the CDC cannot restrict the ability to perform these surgeries, they have placed some requirements that might be vital to keep the virus from entering the operating room or placing the patient at risk of development.
The CDC recommends that the patient seek the best medical professional for the job. While the booking for exclusive doctors and nurses has become back-logged, their patient still holds some preference when it comes to care. Some hospitals and care facilities have kept these anesthesiologists within their sector of work, so it may require some digging on the part of the patient for proper care. The patient is also required to seek the correct PPE and protective mechanisms to ensure they are not at-risk when entering and using a care facility.
In terms of preference, hospitals are also instituting measures to ensure they handle their cases on the correct basis. Factoring into this decision are the different levels of need, accessible individuals, the correct level of social distancing, and other such precautions. The patient needs to ensure that they are operating under the correct circumstances and rules, as they relate to the individual care facility, to keep the process running smoothly and efficiently.
Continued use of anesthesiologists will cause for some cases to be determined at a later date. In working with patient concerns, hospitals have prescribed case agents and representatives that will help facilitate the need for care for each division of the hospital or care facility. The patient needs to adhere to these professionals to ensure that the process continues to run as smoothly as possible.