About 1 in every 7 Americans (14%) is avoiding seeking healthcare if they have a fever or a cough, with concerns about being able to cover the costs.
Another 9% who believe they actually have COVID-19 are also forgoing care, according to a new Gallup consumer poll of 1,000 adults, released Tuesday. Individuals under age 30, those without a high school diploma, Latinos and blacks, and households earning under $40,000 were more likely to fall into this group.
However, mentioning the coronavirus by name reduces the percentage of people who would not seek treatment by about one-third, the poll found. This suggests many may still be unfamiliar with common signs of infection, presenting an opportunity for patient education.
“Greater clarity regarding these issues for the public is advisable,” Gallup and West Health noted April 28. “It would likely be prudent for leaders and public health officials to not assume that the main symptoms of COVID-19 are universally known and to continuously provide updated information for where to go for local testing, cost expectations for treatment and patient capacity at local hospitals.
Faced with some of these issues, radiology practices across the U.S. are increasingly testing out symptom-friendly imaging centers as a way to offer their services to those faced with uncertainty. One of the latest to do so is Connecticut-based Jefferson Radiology, an affiliate of Mednax.
The company announced Monday that its West Hartford location is now open to patients who are under investigation for COVID or have its symptoms. Jefferson has put a series of safety measures in place—limiting access to patients and staff, requiring all to wear masks, and disinfecting rooms and equipment between exams—to calm customers.
The center is offering x-ray imaging and CT scans to patients with a physician referral but will not accept patients who are confirmed to have the disease.
“We want to make sure we are doing everything we can to provide all of our patients—regardless of their health status—with the care they need,” Ethan Foxman, MD, president and CEO of Jefferson Radiology, said in a statement. “Our response to this pandemic is constantly evolving and through painstaking preparation and careful planning, we look forward to offering our community the next step in patient care.”
Marty Stempniak has covered healthcare since 2012, with his byline appearing in the American Hospital Association's member magazine, Modern Healthcare and McKnight's. Prior to that, he wrote about village government and local business for his hometown newspaper in Oak Park, Illinois. He won a Peter Lisagor and Gold EXCEL awards in 2017 for his coverage of the opioid epidemic.