I just heard this morning from a relative about family members that can't get shots they need for pain control or surgeries for breathing problems.
Everything now is COVID-19.
That's the priority (maybe all of the top ten priorities)!
But does it really make sense to completely triage COVID-19 above Cancer, Heart Disease, Respiratory Disease, Strokes, Alzheimers, Diabetes, Kidney Disease, Liver Disease, Parkinson's, and more.
Coronavirus patients are who the hospital and ICU beds are for now.
And the respirators.
The testing.
The new research dollars.
Perhaps, the global medical community has gone a little Coronavirus crazy, extreme, radical, overboard in their singular focus, panic, and chaos over just one virus to the exclusion of everything else!
Apparently, our totally "overwhelmed" medical system can't "walk and chew gum at the same time."
Certainly, we have a lot to be grateful for to the dedicated and selfless doctors and nurses in the medical community for everything they are doing to help people with Coronavirus under very trying circumstances.
The problem is that in the meantime, people that have new or other chronic conditions are being left out and sometimes to rot.
Unless of course you are a big fan of telemedicine, which may be good to get something routine looked after, but something major, and I think you're in big trouble.
After this Coronavirus (assuming there is an after), there is going to be a lot of pent up demand for medical care.
I think a lot of people are suffering now with conditions that they were waiting to take care of until they were absolutely necessary, but unfortunately when it became necessary, then the care was not there.
Makes you wonder whether and when you should do or put off medical procedures in the future: just because the care is there "today," doesn't mean it will be there tomorrow. ;-)
(Credit Photo: Andy Blumenthal)
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