Patient Preferences for Preventive Healthcare During the COVID-19 Pandemic in a Large Integrated Health System.

The COVID-19 pandemic caused healthcare systems and patients to cancel or postpone healthcare services, particularly preventive care. Many patients still have not received these services raising concerns about the potential for preventable morbidity and mortality. At Sutter Health, a large integrated healthcare system in Northern California, we conducted a population-based email survey in August 2020 to evaluate perceptions and preferences about where, when, and how healthcare is delivered during the COVID-19 pandemic. In total, 3351 patients completed surveys, and 42.6% reported that they would "wait until they felt safe" before receiving a colonoscopy as compared to 22.4% for a mammogram. The doctor's office was the most common preferred location for receiving vaccines/shots (79.9%), though many also reported preferring an outdoor setting or in a car (63.7%). With over 40% of patients reporting that they would "wait until they feel safe" for a colonoscopy, healthcare systems could focus on promoting other evidence-based options such a fecal-occult blood test to ensure timely colon cancer screening.

Evolving Plant Diagnostics During a Pandemic

The National Plant Diagnostic Network (NPDN), comprising diagnostic professionals from more than 70 pathology, entomology, and nematology laboratories, safeguards U.S. plant systems through accurate diagnosis and effective communications with clients, partners, and stakeholders. As a USDA-NIFA extension program built on the land-grant university system, the network has dual responsibilities to extension clientele such as farmers and the green industry, as well as state and federal regulatory agencies. Following strategic planning in 2019, the network emerged with a concise plan and strong committees of network participants to enhance and sustain service to NPDN clientele and partners, even through significant disruptions like the 2020 coronavirus pandemic. The commitment to building diagnostic capacity and expertise across the country allows these plant clinics to assist during a response to detections of highconsequence plant pathogens by clearing healthy plants for commerce while identifying potential positives for regulators to quarantine and/or eradicate, similar to the test and trace efforts for human diseases such as COVID-19. In this review, we describe the network’s recent activities to protect U.S. plant agriculture and natural ecosystems and its plans to improve and expand capacity for national plant biosecurity. © 2021 The American Phytopathological Society