November 9, 2020

US Clinicians’ Experiences and Perspectives on Resource Limitation and Patient Care During the COVID-19 Pandemic

Category: Article Summary

Topic: Public Health Policy and Practice

Keywords (Tags): health care setting, public health

A qualitative study with 61 clinicians involved in institutional planning during the COVID-19 pandemic in the US between April-May 2020 described their experience providing care in settings with limited resources.  While clinician leaders planned to avoid decision-making at bedside, unanticipated forms of resource limitations could compromise care and require difficult allocation decisions. The need to limit in-person interactions, the rapid pace of change, and the dearth of scientific evidence were additional challenges to caring for patients and communicating with families. The cohort were mostly white (65%) attending physicians (75%) practicing in large academic centers (85%), and more heavily sampled from areas with the highest rates of COVID-19 infection at the time of interview.

Butler et al. (Nov 6, 2020). US Clinicians’ Experiences and Perspectives on Resource Limitation and Patient Care During the COVID-19 Pandemic. JAMA Network Open. https://doi.org/10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2020.27315