According to the Commonwealth Fund the U.S. has the lowest life expectancy among the ten highest income OECD countries. We have the highest chronic disease burden and our obesity rates are twice the average of …
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Although achieving herd immunity is critical to ending the pandemic, it makes sense to look at this task regionally, rather than by country or state.
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We have two choices to crush this pandemic: 1) Vaccination of a large percentage of our population, and 2) Herd immunity. The responsibility of all of us in healthcare is to follow the science, share what we know with the public, and be careful in how we do so.
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Our country now faces the most significant public health crisis in more than a century. The COVID-19 virus has upended our lives and put all of us at risk for illness. As we approach the …
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In my first two articles on our road to recovery, I covered the first two phases of the COVID-19 pandemic. In them I shared my thoughts on how provider organizations could restart their service lines …
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In Phase 2, businesses expand their services and modify their business practices (e.g., limited seating in restaurants). The COVID-19 disease incidence rate will plateau with a steady number of new cases reported daily. Although researchers are hard at work, we will not have a meaningful treatment or vaccine. As we enter Phase 2 of the pandemic, provider organizations should adjust to the changes in healthcare delivery to take advantage of the opportunities presented.
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During normal times, managers often make decisions based on their knowledge and experience; analysis of data to varying degrees informs that decision-making process. Circumstances change at an easily manageable pace, errors in judgment can be corrected, and the impact of those poor choices is often insignificant. During a healthcare crisis, however, the cost of being wrong is exponential.
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To survive, provider organizations must quickly restore their previous revenue streams while preparing for the potential next waves of the pandemic. Successful recovery for these organizations is not represented by a return to the old ways of providing services.
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Data informs our decision making, hopefully leading us to better choices. But in the end, it is us humans who choose.
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No country will be fully safe until all citizens are vaccinated. This is the only way to achieve a high enough level of heard immunity to halt the pandemic.
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