My frontline is the sideline

Here are latest COVID-19 coronavirus stories you missed on KevinMD. Thank you for your continuing readership. ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ --------------------------------------------------------------- Here are latest COVID-19 coronavirus stories you missed on KevinMD. Thank you for your continuing readership. --------------------------------------------------------------- Sponsored by Careers by KevinMD.com [Primary care opportunities](. Physician-led, multi-specialty group. Brand new, state-of-the-art medical village. Leadership opportunities for qualified candidates. [No call coverage](. --------------------------------------------------------------- KevinMD Plus: May 9, 2020 [My frontline is the sideline]( While I don’t feel like I’ll ever be fully prepared for that, I am ready to step in from the sidelines when and if my team needs me, and I know I’m not the only one. [Rising to the moment COVID demands: How to insure all Americans in pandemic times]( The COVID-19 pandemic has led to unprecedented upheaval of the U.S. health care system. For decades the United States has stood out among peer nations as the only country with no universal health care system. And now we are learning just how problematic it is to tie insurance to employment — an unintended consequence of […] [8 reasons why people ignore and defy COVID-19 safeguards]( If you’re amazed that people are still shaking hands, waltzing around mask-free in public, and rushing off to hair salons and beaches in some states, learn to think like a therapist. Understanding the underlying motivations of people who ignore and defy COVID-19 precautions will help you relate more effectively to those in your own life. […] [The burden of essential business: How independent pharmacies are struggling to stay open]( My parents’ pharmacy is a low slung, white brick building on the corner of East and Main. The front door is strung with silver bells; a jar of red licorice sits by the cash register; automatic scooters line the front of the shop, gleaming like cars at the races. Most days, the pharmacy is a […] [Can patients see my smile behind all of this PPE?]( I walk into my fifth operating room of the morning. “Good morning, Mr. Jacobs. My name is Dr. Michaelis. I will be the anesthesiologist helping to safely get your breathing tube in as we get your surgery started today.” He nods and closes his eyes. That’s all he can see of me. My eyes. I […] [Are we letting our hearts rule our minds in the time of COVID-19?]( One month ago, I made a video telling people to stay home to slow the spread of COVID-19. Today I’m making a video telling people to not stay home with life-threatening symptoms of other diseases. This is because patients are now more terrified of getting the virus than dying of a heart attack or stroke. […] [Social distance, yes, but don’t be afraid of the outdoors]( I am an ER physician in Jacksonville, FL. Yesterday, I learned that a top health official in New Zealand was reprimanded for taking his family to the beach. He did this after orders had been given to stay home, and strict social distancing had been mandated. This was not his only offense — he was […] [What makes people defy precautions during a pandemic?]( We are in the midst of an unequaled juncture in history, one in which we find ourselves primarily armed with the ability to distance ourselves physically from one another. In the United States, we have observed on multiple occasions over the past several weeks how some citizens have chosen to defy social distancing guidelines from […] [Evidence-based methods for the decontamination of N95 respirators]( This document is meant for information purposes. Please review the CDC guidelines for N95 mask contingency planning. FDA-approved methods On March 29, 2020, the FDA issued an emergency use authorization for a proprietary hydrogen peroxide vapor (HPV) system for the decontamination of N95 FFR. This system allows up to 20 cycles of decontamination. In a […] [Should online shopping include online labs?]( For $149, you can go online and obtain a “basic wellness” panel of labs. You can see for yourself if you have anemia or diabetes. For another $300, you can sign up for a “premium” package to check out how your liver and thyroid are doing. All of this can be done without even a […] [Is there opportunity for physicians in the pandemic?]( We are living in unprecedented times that will be pivotal for our beloved profession. In the Dickens novel, A Tale of Two Cities, the period of time in which the story was set was pivotal in the evolution of society and politics. Our current times may provide the setting that allows physicians to regain independence […] [Practice social distancing because the lives of your health care workers matter]( I was in medical school when the world saw the news of the Zika and Ebola viruses, but never have I seen mass hysteria to this level for COVID-19. No longer is coronavirus what is depicted in a copy of First Aid for the USMLE Step 1, where it says coronavirus is a cause for […] [A neurosurgeon on call with coronavirus]( Last weekend, my partner witnessed some of the pandemic’s collateral damage in an upsurge of violent deaths via car wrecks and shootings. A patient of mine, chief of the local SWAT team, had predicted as much: he gave people two weeks at home before they started acting out. I expected a similar weekend and was […] [Please don’t call me a hero. This is what nurses have always done.]( Before becoming a certified registered nurse anesthetist (CRNA), I was a surgical intensive care unit (SICU) nurse for decades. During that time, I often saw patients during their greatest time of need – trauma victims, transplant recipients, patients with brain tumors, ruptured aortas, and septic shock. I thought I had seen it all, but working […] [Rebuilding a post-coronavirus culture of medicine]( In a previous article, I have described the physician burnout epidemic as a raging river whose features included safety nets designed to catch people before “going over the falls,” the need to teach individual survival skills (e.g., resilience), evaluating your raft and river guide for safety (employers and their leadership), and so on: The “rapid” pace […] [Physician risk during COVID-19: reflections from the AIDS epidemic]( A guest column by the American College of Physicians, exclusive to KevinMD. If nothing else, the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic has brought crystal clarity to something that all physicians are aware of but don’t often think about – that because we deal closely with communicable diseases, physicians (along with other health care workers) are clearly at […] [Not all physicians wear a stethoscope, even during a pandemic]( I’m a dermatologist, so I’m not on the front lines of this pandemic. And thanks to public health measures, I may never be called to work at coronavirus drive-thru testing sites because we are flattening the curve of infections. Nevertheless, my clinic is reserved as a hospital “surge unit,” so I’ve converted to telemedicine to keep caring […] [The question you will be asked after the pandemic]( I am an ICU nurse in Manhattan. I have seen my share of trauma, critical illness, and sorrow. But what is happening in my hospital and hospitals across America is on a scale of the tragedy not even the most seasoned clinician has experienced. My hospital looks like any hospital in America. Serene on the […] [Let’s not let our pride get in the way of heroism]( Nothing about quarantine feels heroic. Nothing about sitting in an empty apartment, checking the Johns Hopkins Covid-19 tracker every 10 minutes, feels like saving the world. Nothing about the paper I’m writing, the pantry you’re stocking, the sale he’s completing, the workout she’s posting, the pizza they’re making — none of that feels heroic when […] [How to practice high-quality telemedicine in the era of COVID-19]( My practice received its first question about coronavirus from a patient on January 28, 2020. Though there were over 200 deaths reported in China by that time, no one could have imagined how drastically this would come to disrupt our lives at home. Thankfully, I had a head start. As a doctor at an integrated […] --------------------------------------------------------------- If a friend sent you this email and you want to subscribe, go to [KevinMD](. --------------------------------------------------------------- 345 Hudson Street New York NY 10014 USA [Unsubscribe]( | [Change Subscriber Options](