In the wake of Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer's announcement that nonessential surgeries can resume starting May 29, the state's health systems are preparing to work through massive backlogs, according to the Detroit Free Press and The Sault News.
Here's what four medical groups are up against:
1. Southfield, Mich.-based Beaumont Health has a backlog of 8,500 surgical procedures that were delayed due to COVID-19. It will likely take at least six months to get through those cases, according to Jeffrey Fischgrund, MD, Beaumont Health's chief of clinical programs and orthopedic department chair at Beaumont Hospital, Royal Oak (Mich.).
After closing ASCs in mid-March, Beaumont Health shifted staffing, anesthesia machines and other equipment to its main hospitals to manage rising COVID-19 volumes. These changes can't be easily reversed as the pandemic continues, so the system is still sitting at 50 percent of normal volumes, Dr. Fischgrund told the Detroit Free Press.
Despite robust safety precautions at Beaumont — including separate entrances and treatment areas for COVID-19 patients, screening and testing before surgery, and visitor limitations — Dr. Fischgrund said many patients are reluctant to return.
2. Surgeons at Ann Arbor-based University of Michigan Medical Group are working on Saturdays to address the system's 12,000-operation backlog. The effort is intended to shorten the time it takes to work through the backlog from 20 weeks to 16 weeks.
3. Detroit-based Henry Ford Health System is also scheduling some procedures on weekends to work through roughly 8,000 delayed procedures, with the goal of having everyone rescheduled by the end of June. Like University of Michigan Medical Group, Henry Ford is prioritizing patients based on the urgency of their condition.
4. Hip and knee replacement specialist Mark Karadsheh, MD, is resuming surgeries after a six-week standstill. As part of Southfield-based Michigan Orthopaedic Surgeons, a 50-physician group, Dr. Karadsheh is following strict criteria to determine which patients will be first in line. Those who have significant pain and joint deterioration tend to take priority, while patients with health conditions that put them at high risk of COVID-19-related complications are being asked to wait longer.
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