Continued interruptions at local schools could have a sizeable impact on radiology departments attempting to prepare themselves for the initial post-COVID imaging surge.
That’s according to new guidance, issued by the Radiological Society of North America to help docs deal with returning to normalcy. Several recent analyses have detailed ways to approach that very first “surge” once patients start seeking care again in the coming months, but RSNA’s May 11 guidance explores the step that follows after that, as radiologists begin working through the wait list of nonurgent imaging built up over the last two months.
“It is important to consider that continued school and day care closures may have a substantial impact on the availability of sufficient radiology staff,” wrote Mahmud Mossa-Basha, MD, with the University of Washington Medical Center, and colleagues on RSNA’s COVID-19 Task Force. “Mitigating factors may include staggering work shifts, home workstations for radiologists, and capacity for flexing/redeploying staff as needed.”
The three-page document offers some simple steps radiology providers can take in the categories of reopening elective imaging, limiting potential patient exposure, protecting healthcare workers, addressing rad education, and planning for the post-COVID reality. On the latter, Mossa-Basha and colleagues urge providers to form a departmental task force to plan their timeline and approach to outpatient imaging—with trainees, faculty and leadership all involved.
In addition, the task force released a second three-page document on Monday that covers how hospitals can prepare for a surge of COVID-19 patients. This guidance covers three categories—patient screening, creating “rapid triage environments” and redeploying radiologists to the front lines.
“The RSNA COVID-19 Task Force has developed these insights to help guide radiology groups through the COVID-19 pandemic, providing tools and information to help them best care for their patients in an efficient manner, while protecting their patients and healthcare workers from potential exposures,” Mossa-Basha said in an RSNA statement issued Monday.
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.