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How the Healthcare Industry Has Been Affected By Covid-19

How the Healthcare Industry Has Been Affected By Covid-19

The pandemic has not only harmed individuals, the healthcare Industry has also been affected by Covid-19. Here are 6 ways things are different now.

The coronavirus originated in Wuhan, China, in December of 2019, steadily spreading to nearly 160 countries in less than three months. On March 11, 2020, the WHO declared COVID-19 a pandemic. For hospitals, it became a situation of utmost importance.

All hands had to be on deck. Before they knew it, hospitals had reached maximum capacity. There was no more space for more patients. It was difficult to accommodate Corona-positive patients and patients with other diseases simultaneously.

The healthcare sector had to work hard to keep itself safe. However, it didn’t stop there.

The pandemic left lasting effects on the healthcare sector, and they’re still in the process of recovering to this date.

I’m sharing about this topic today, because I’m the bestselling author of a health-boosting longevity book, Life is Long..

In my book I share about how to protect your health with research based health information.

I write a lot about science-backed tips and wellness strategies for living healthier, younger, longer. Plus I also share tips about general healthcare information. With this in mind, in this particular article, I’ll be sharing how the healthcare industry’s been affected by Covid-19.

6 Ways the Healthcare Industry’s Been Affected By Covid-19

So how exactly did the healthcare industry get impacted by the virus? Here’s what you need to know about the pandemic and its lasting effects.:

1. Disruption in the Supply Chain

Disruption in the healthcare supply chain impacted the management of medical supplies. There was a massive shortage of hand sanitizer, face masks, and protective gear. China was the most prominent medical equipment supplier to the US but had to pause to give out resources. Due to the disruption of the supply chain, healthcare facilities had to stockpile available products. There was a tremendous amount of money required to keep up with the growing patients. As a result, there was immense financial pressure on the healthcare sector. There were also incidents of counterfeit products making their way into hospital care.

2. Shortage of healthcare staff and rise in patient care

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention emphasized the importance of social distancing. However, for most families, this was not possible. People who had large families and tiny houses didn’t have the privilege to keep distancing themselves. As a result, there was a rise in patients coming to the hospitals. The sudden and ever-ending rise in the covid patients meant that the hospitals had to shift their entire focus towards them and increase their healthcare workforce.

In the meantime, the internet became a haven of knowledge for practitioners globally to benefit from a united cause. Given the circumstances, the state encouraged the upcoming healthcare practitioners to enroll themselves in medical courses such as MPH online no GRE required to study the trends of patients. It

3. Disposal of Waste

When assessing a patient affected by the virus, there is a need to dispose of waste effectively. Equipment such as PPEs had to go in unique trash bags to throw them out. All vials of blood and body fluids of corona patients needed to go in another type of bag to get thrown out. The issue was that these bags were plastic and weren’t easy to burn. Even if there were attempts to burn them, it would mingle with the waste inside, exuding toxic fumes and exposing more people to the virus. There is also an increase in pollution in dumping sites from an accumulation of waste, which leads to another onslaught of disease outbreaks harming the population.

4. Exhausted Staff

The healthcare sector couldn’t allow doctors to go home despite how tired they were. The reason was that there was an immense staff shortage and not enough people on board to help patients. Patients with corona needed constant monitoring. Critical cases had to go into the ICU, and their vitals were also required to stay in check. Patients who couldn’t get wheeled into the ICU were dependent on oxygen to survive. Oxygen cylinders need replacement after a while, but this poses another problem. There has never been an incident globally where many oxygen cylinders needed purchasing simultaneously, so there was an immense shortage.

So for the health care staff, this meant trying to find alternatives. Nurses and doctors alike were working with different patients at a time, trying to keep them alive at the expense of their own lives. Hospitals also needed doctors for immunocompromised patients. These patients need special care and separate rooms since their bodies cannot fight infections on their own. These patients were also more prone to catching and struggling to resist the virus.

5. Overwhelmed Morgues

The pandemic caused several people to die. Patients were passing away rapidly and some at the same time. Hospitals temporarily store patients in morgues for their close ones to pick and bury them. However, with lockdowns in place and hospitals not allowing people to enter, morgues were under stress. There were too many bodies and not enough space. In some cases, the temperature needed further reduction and piling of bodies on top of each other. It was difficult on the healthcare sector since even morgues had hit their limit, but there was no space to put bodies.

6. An Attempt at Telehealth

As the healthcare staff showed tremendous dedication to coronavirus patients, they couldn’t ignore their other patients. Some patients needed a checkup for their conditions as well. These could be diabetic patients, patients on blood thinners, or patients recovering from a transplant. Doctors would ask such patients to purchase devices such as an automatic blood pressure machine and record their current health status.

Over video conferencing, they would listen to the patient and provide appropriate diagnoses. In some cases where they felt necessary, they would include the patient’s family members to facilitate their care further. It was an attempt to take care of patients without endangering their lives further by asking them to come to hospitals.

Wrap Up: Healthcare Industry & Covid-19

The healthcare sector took a severe hit due to the pandemic of 2019. It caused significant discrepancies in the flow of work and hospital care. There was a disruption in the supply chain of the medicines. Rise in the number of patients coming to the hospital with a massive shortage of equipment. There was trouble disposing of wastes as it could lead to exposing more people to diseases. The healthcare workers were overworked and on the verge of collapsing. The hospital morgues could no longer accommodate more patients. The redeeming factor amidst all these adversaries was the introduction to telehealth. The pandemic tested every healthcare sector to its limit.

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