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> furloughing in areas like dermatology, plastic surgery, and the like Stop. This is incredibly misleading. Elective just means that you can choose the time
by nostromo 6y ago
> furloughing in areas like dermatology, plastic surgery, and the like
Stop. This is incredibly misleading.
Elective just means that you can choose the time to do the surgery. It doesn't mean they are optional for health.
Elective surgeries include inguinal hernia surgery, cataract surgery, mastectomy for breast cancer, kidney transplant, and hip surgery.
Most surgeries are elective.
Don't minimize this as a bunch of delayed facelifts.
- ceejayoz 6y agoI'd be happy to wager there are substantially more dermatology visits in your average hospital than there are kidney transplants. There's a range of severity in "elective" procedures, certainly. There are a lot of procedures folks will willingly postpone right now, and it's not surprising that hospitals are furloughing staff that service them. It is disingenuous to suggest that furloughs in these elective areas demonstrate an excess of capacity in the ER/ICU.
- jdminhbg 6y agoDermatology is real medicine with real consequences. Even Jerry Seinfeld found out the hard way: https://youtu.be/EmzM0bz3PWc https://youtu.be/EmzM0bz3PWc
- ceejayoz 6y agoCertainly, but you'll likely find it has a higher proportion of elective procedures that can be held off than, say, the NICU. Which will mean that department's staff - docs, nurses, receptionists, billers, cleaners, etc. - will be more likely to be on the furlough lists than the ER or ICU.
- tqi 6y agoYou are making a lot assumptions about what is / isn't considered elective based on your own personal priors/biases. Look at this list: https://www.hcup-us.ahrq.gov/reports/statbriefs/sb186-Operating-Room-Procedures-United-States-2012.jsp https://www.hcup-us.ahrq.gov/reports/statbriefs/sb186-Operat... Knee replacements, hip replacements, even Coronary artery bypass graft can be considered "elective" if there is not an urgent need.
- ceejayoz 6y agoFocusing on hospital stays misses an enormous aspect of what hospitals do; routine visits, outpatient procedures, etc. There are plenty of reasons one might visit a hospital for something elective that doesn't show up as a "hospital stay" from that link. My kids get eye exams at the hospital. My son's allergist is there. These visits can wait, and they make up a lot of a hospital's business; the staff in those areas have little to do at the moment.
- greedo 6y agoKidney transplants are considered essential surgery, not elective procedures according to the DHHS. [1] I would be incredibly surprised if any other transplant surgery was considered elective since time is usually of the essence in transplants. [1] “We are grateful to the Administration for clarifying that transplantations are an essential surgery which can be performed safely if a hospital feels they have the staff and resources available during the COVID-19 crisis,” said Joseph Vassalotti, MD, Chief Medical Officer, National Kidney Foundation. https://www.kidney.org/news/national-kidney-foundation-urges-clarity-and-flexibility-elective-surgery-procedures-during https://www.kidney.org/news/national-kidney-foundation-urges...