Who would have thought at the beginning of 2020 with a booming US economy, unemployment at a record low, and an economic future that was bright and bustling, that by June the United States would be faced with a Healthcare Recession?
COVID-19 continues to leave its mark on all industries, including the US healthcare system. As we read NPR’s recent posting, As Hospitals Lose Revenue, More Than A Million Health Care Workers Lose Jobs, we were struck by the irony that the nation’s essential healthcare workforce were becoming unemployed during what could have been the most critical time in healthcare history.
NPR’s article highlights not only the severity of the pandemic, but how vulnerable the United States healthcare system can be at any given time. While everyone focused on the necessity to obtain PPE products and dealing with unanticipated shortages, doctors, nurses, and occupational health employees were losing their jobs due to significant drops in patient admission. The paragraph from the article below sums up some of the damage that was created.
It’s an ironic twist as the coronavirus pandemic sweeps the nation: The very workers tasked with treating those afflicted with the virus are losing work in droves. Emergency room visits are down. Non-urgent surgical procedures have largely been put on hold. Health care spending fell 18% in the first three months of the year. And 1.4 million health care workers lost their jobs in April, a sharp increase from the 42,000 reported in March, according to the Labor Department. Nearly 135,000 of the April losses were in hospitals.
While COVID-19 patients were increasing in numbers, other medical departments such as oncology and elective surgeries were over compensating and decreasing their patient levels at a much more significant rate, causing many workers with the skill set to treat infected COVID-19 patients to be helpless at home. This unhealthy balance and shift of revenue crippled most health care facilities.
As the healthcare system regains balance, new practices will be left in the wake of the unprecedented illness to prevent future outbreaks of all diseases. From cleaning grocery store checkout stations regularly to adapting restaurant layouts to distance guests, cleanliness and protection standards have never been higher.
While America moves into the second half of 2020 and the economy and healthcare systems both begin to recover and move forward, there is much to be learned from this new normal. We can all agree that preparedness is essential, recessions in all industries are real, and the American spirit continues to live on and be resilient.
About Right Way Medical
Right Way Medical provides supply, logistic, technology, biomedical, and financing solutions to alternate site, long-term care, and specialty pharmacy healthcare providers through an innovative suite of products and services combined with the highest level of customer service. Founded in 2014, Right Way Medical has become a trusted name in the infusion industry and focuses every day to continue to earn that trust and provide its customers with the ideal experience in acquiring healthcare related products and service.
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