Non-COVID care in a pandemic

After a slew of public health messages in the early days of the pandemic instructed people to avoid trips to the doctor, many people have skipped routine visits or much-needed check-ins with their physicians. With on and off spikes in infection rates and many people still unvaccinated, emergency rooms remain overwhelmed, causing medical providers to have to put off non-emergency treatment. For some patients, what was once non-emergent became an emergency, and the postponing of what’s considered “elective” surgeries, worsened their condition. Some family members of patients say protocols under the pandemic have expedited their loved ones’ deaths.

To discuss the pandemic’s impact on care beyond COVID, we were joined by an associate professor of clinical pediatrics and internal medicine and a reporter who's been following the story. 

GUESTS: 

Michelle M. Barnes, MD

Associate professor of Clinical Pediatrics and Internal Medicine at UIC | Program Director of the Pediatrics residency program | Secretary of the Illinois Chapter of American Academy of Pediatrics (ICAAP)

Duaa Eldeib 

Reporter, ProPublica

The pandemic killed so many dialysis patients that 2021 was the first year in history that the U.S. dialysis population actually shrank.

The stories and statistics I learned while reporting this broke my heart. Thread:https://t.co/A3W9P3hgTN

— Duaa Eldeib (@deldeib) January 7, 2022

Prepared for web by Owen Henderson

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