ST. TAMMANY PARISH, La. —
A Northshore doctor is warning that COVID-19 could cost lives even among those who don't contract the virus; the statewide stop on non-emergency surgeries could have deadly consequences.
"I have a patient that was supposed to get a mastectomy for breast cancer this month and it’s been put off two months. I don’t know about you, but if I had cancer, I would not want that put off two months," said Dr. Chad Domangue of Cypress Point Pain Management in St. Tammany Parish.
Dr. Chad Domangue is a neurologist, psychiatrist and pain management physician. As the state wrestles with a growing number of coronavirus cases, he is concerned that the outbreak is threatening the lives and health of people who don’t have the virus.
"We do about 700 elective cases a month," he said about his hospital. "Spine, heart disease, kidney disease, lung disease, you name it. You also have surgery centers and cardiologists that do outpatient procedures as well. You’re talking about 200,000 that have been on hold."
And the waiting is fraying some people's nerves.
"I think this is the most stressed that I’ve ever been," said patient Amy Cuneo, 36.
Cuneo is one of those cases on hold. She’s cleared to have neck and back surgery after a car wreck, but the clock is ticking fast. A pending divorce means she will soon be dropped from her husband’s insurance.
"Being afraid to leave your house, but then to add to (that), I don’t know when I’m going to be able to get the surgeries to get the pain relief that I need. The financial stress of it," said Cuneo about all the health concerns that are weighing on her mind.
The state has issued guidelines asking healthcare providers to postpone “any and all medical and surgical procedures that, in the medical opinion and judgment of the physician…can be safely postponed” until April 21, 2020.
The Louisiana Department of Health leaves the request open-ended, recognizing that each case, procedure and patient is unique. That puts the decision in the hands of doctors at individual hospitals.
The state says the mandate is to preserve medical resources and keep patients from being exposed to the coronavirus. But Domangue says doctors are in fear of a decision that will cost them their medical licenses.
"Half the hospital staff doctors and nurses have been sent home because they can’t do elective surgeries. And so what I fear is this bomb is growing and growing and growing," Domangue said. "When the government puts a pause on all medical care for the time that they’re doing it, I’m really concerned that the virus is the least of our fears."
The doctor added that without medical procedures and physical therapy for pain management, some patients say they are taking higher doses of their pain medications than the prescription calls for.
Here is the full statement from the website of the Louisiana Board of Medical Examiners:
Many practitioners have asked the Board for guidance regarding the Louisiana Department of Health and Hospitals’ (LDH) Directive to postpone “any and all medical and surgical procedures that, in the medical opinion and judgment of the physician or other appropriate healthcare professional acting within the scope of his/her license, can be safely postponed” until April 21, 2020. A list of examples is not helpful because inevitably we cannot address every possibility. A procedure that might be safely postponed for one patient, might not be safely postponed for another patient depending on that patient’s condition or co-morbidities. The Board recognizes that this determination requires an exercise of medical judgment. We ask that each licensee follow his/her medical education, knowledge, training, and experience, in his/her respective specialty and profession, within the scope of their respective licenses, to determine whether it is safe to postpone the medical or surgical procedure. The LDH Directive was issued to conserve resources, personal protective equipment (PPE), and prevent personnel, patients, and family from infection with COVID19. Even our waiting rooms are potential sources of infections for our healthy patients. Ask yourself: would the delay in care in this patient be harmful to their health? If you proceed with a medical or surgical procedure, we suggest that you clearly document the justification and support (for instance, cite the supportive best practices, guidelines, standard of care and/or literature) for a procedure taking place within the scope of the LDH Directive.
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