COVID-19: impacts of the pandemic on medical interventions


Wait times for surgery and medical procedures have returned to pre-pandemic levels, but not for all types of procedures.

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In fact, while cataract surgeries have resumed in most provinces, people waiting for joint replacements are facing long waiting lists, revealed a recent study by the Canadian Institute Health Information Center (CIHI). However, this situation is not the same in Quebec, as the proportion of patients treated between October 2020 and December 2021 remained below the pre-pandemic rate.

It’s no secret that many surgeries have been postponed since the start of the pandemic to make room for COVID-19 patients. As a result, many people awaiting hip or knee arthroplasty have to wait longer.

“We are currently discussing the possibility of using other strategies to reduce wait times, which have worsened during the pandemic,” mentioned Lynn Molloy, manager of surgical wait lists for the health authority. Nova Scotia.

Despite everything, the pandemic will have had little impact on the wait times for procedures deemed urgent, the CIHI study found.

“Throughout the pandemic, when interventions were postponed due to waves of COVID-19, health systems prioritized maintaining urgent interventions like cancer surgeries, radiation therapy and fracture repairs. of the hip”, can we read.

To conduct this study, CIHI analyzed data collected during the first year and a half of the pandemic, from April 2020 to September 2021.




Reference-www.journaldemontreal.com

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