‘ I want us to be better than’ normal
Doctors see a future of virtual visits, greater readiness
Jeffrey Flaks bristles at questions about whether the health care industry will return to “normal” in the wake of the COVID- 19 pandemic.
“A lot of people are talking about the need to return to normal,” said Flaks, president and CEO of Hartford HealthCare. “I don’t want us to return to normal. I want us to be better than what was normal.”
Indeed, many hospital officials and health experts said the crisis has forced hospitals and health care workers to be more innovative and resourceful in solving the many problems of the pandemic, including a lack of personal protective equipment and the need to care for patients while also limiting physical contact.
Because hospitals needed to adapt, many of them instituted changes that will remain even after the pandemic subsides.
That includes increased technology to provide telehealth “visits” between doctors and patients. Flaks said talking to a doctor on a phone or video platform might not take the place of visits to the physician’s office, but it will be a significant part of health care moving forward.
Virtual visits mean patients can talk to doctors on their own schedule without leaving their homes, increasing access to care, Flaks said.
“We now can address language barriers, cultural sensitivities — there are so many innovations coming out of virtual health,” he said.
Anne Diamond, president of Bridgeport Hospital and executive president of the Yale New Haven Health System, agreed.
“We have such advanced telehealth right now that I don’t see us going backwards,” she said. “Right now, if I’m not feeling well,
I can call a doctor and have a telehealth visit on my time schedule. It’s really all age groups that have embraced it because they didn’t have a choice, but now they like it.”
Another area that will likely evolve in the wake of COVID- 19 is the procurement and storage of personal protective equipment. Throughout the country, many hospitals either ran out of or were in danger of not having enough masks, gowns and other equipment required to keep themselves safe. Experts said preparing for these shortages will definitely be a concern moving forward.
“Like during the AIDS epidemic, COVID- 19 will force us to adopt heightened infection control procedures and new PPE standards,” said Summer Johnson McGee, dean of the School of Health Sciences at the University of New Haven. “A renewed focus on protecting health care workers will take place in the coming years as well as the psychological toll that this virus has taken on our health care professionals.”
The COVID- 19 crisis might also alter the way we think about end- of- life issues, Diamond said. She said that’s something a lot of people have been thrust into thinking about, and she expects those conversations to continue even after the worst of the crisis subsides.
“I think ( end of life) is more top of mind now,” Diamond said. “You’re hearing every single day about deaths being reported. We’re seeing more patients coming in prepared to answer those end- of- life questions.”