Subject(s)
Coronavirus Infections/economics , Health Care Costs , Orthopedic Procedures/economics , Pandemics/economics , Pneumonia, Viral/economics , COVID-19 , Coronavirus Infections/epidemiology , Coronavirus Infections/prevention & control , Female , Hospital Costs/statistics & numerical data , Humans , Male , Orthopedic Procedures/methods , Orthopedic Procedures/statistics & numerical data , Orthopedics/economics , Pandemics/prevention & control , Pandemics/statistics & numerical data , Pneumonia, Viral/epidemiology , Pneumonia, Viral/prevention & control , United StatesABSTRACT
BACKGROUND: The economic effects of the COVID-19 crisis are not like anything the U.S. health care system has ever experienced. METHODS: As we begin to emerge from the peak of the COVID-19 pandemic, we need to plan the sustainable resumption of elective procedures. We must first ensure the safety of our patients and surgical staff. It must be a priority to monitor the availability of supplies for the continued care of patients suffering from COVID-19. As we resume elective orthopedic surgery and total joint arthroplasty, we must begin to reduce expenses by renegotiating vendor contracts, use ambulatory surgery centers and hospital outpatient departments in a safe and effective manner, adhere to strict evidence-based and COVID-19-adjusted practices, and incorporate telemedicine and other technology platforms when feasible for health care systems and orthopedic groups to survive economically. RESULTS: The return to normalcy will be slow and may be different than what we are accustomed to, but we must work together to plan a transition to a more sustainable health care reality which accommodates a COVID-19 world. CONCLUSION: Our goal should be using these lessons to achieve a healthy and successful 2021 fiscal year.