tect our patients."
During the pandemic, surgical leaders leaned on response guidelines
coming from everywhere — the CDC, state governments and special-
ty and professional societies. "All those things came hard and fast in a
situation that was as dynamic as it could possibly be," says Dr.
Shapiro.
Now is the time to reassess and rethink the testing patients must go
through before setting foot in your facility. Jay Horowitz, CRNA, of
Quality Anesthesia Care in Sarasota, Fla., hopes evidence of addition-
al COVID-19 symptoms will move patient and staff screenings beyond
temperature readings and questions about recent travel. "Maybe we
should place a pulse oximeter on them, looking for abnormally low
readings," he says. "Or ask if they've had a loss of sense of smell or
taste."
He thinks point-of-care, rapid-result COVID-19 tests could be a game-
changer. "We can test patients and staff right there in the parking lot
before they even enter the building," he says. "If everybody comes in the
morning and gets a negative test, we're good."
Mr. Horowitz, who primarily works ophthalmic cases, says
providers will need to reorient procedurally to account for COVID-19.
"We have a plastic drape, for instance, that covers the patient's face
and has a little hole so you can see the eye," he says. "If a patient had
the virus, where would it most likely be piling up during the case?
Under that drape, so we must be a little more careful pulling it off.
That's the type of thing we've never had to think about before."
What's 'elective'?
Like many in the industry, Dr. Shapiro is focusing on defining what
"elective" surgeries are, an issue that must be resolved as centers
reopen, regulatory agencies adjust and patients warily consider
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