Pressure Mounting to Postpone Elective Procedures

With various entities increasing pressure for hospitals to postpone elective procedures in light of the COVID-19 pandemic, the U.S. Surgeon General’s office recently released its own statement advising surgeons to delay elective procedures whenever possible. The move is designed as part of the broadening effort to “flatten the curve” of COVID-19 infections in order to prevent U.S. hospitals from being overrun with patients. Specifically, the office warned that elective procedures can spread the COVID-19 virus from patients to staff or vice versa, deplete needed stores of medical supplies, and take space and staff away from COVID-19 patients.

In response to the statement, several industry groups including the American Hospital Association have released their own statements reminding physicians that “elective” merely means a procedure is scheduled rather than done on an emergency basis. They advised physicians to carefully review their scheduled procedures to ensure that at-risk patients with serious conditions are not deprived of vital care, citing examples of heart valve replacements or tumor removals.

Some hospitals and health systems have already started limiting elective procedures. Further, surveys reveal an increasing number of patients are canceling procedures on their own. And moving forward, providers should prepare for the possibility that their surgical sites, local or state governments, or the federal government may mandate a temporary shutdown. Either way, surgeons are likely to see an increasing number of canceled cases over the next few months, and will want to maintain a system of tracking them to ensure they are rescheduled at an appropriate time.