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The COVID situation in AZ is PATHETIC: "Stop testing" "Reuse PPE" [View all]
Source: AZCentral
Top AZ health official tells primary care providers: Stop testing for COVID-19, reuse protective equipment
The health official leading Arizona's new coronavirus response is urging primary care providers not to test most patients for COVID-19, saying the state's "current reality" is that it doesn't have enough supplies to meet testing demand.
In a set of new guidelines issued Wednesday, Health Department Director Dr. Cara Christ said providers "should consider removing this diagnostic 'tool' from their toolbox and managing patients with respiratory conditions as if they have COVID-19."
"Keep working with your commercial vendors for testing, but do not depend on having test results for your management," Christ wrote. "There is no specific treatment or management strategy (for COVID-19), and results should not change clinical management."
Given a shortage of personal protective equipment, Christ also advised health care professionals to move testing outdoors, if possible, and to reuse equipment. Going outdoors could help limit the exposure of staff and other patients, she wrote.
She encouraged doctors to send patients with more severe symptoms to "higher levels of care" but noted: "There may not be testing indicated or available at the higher level of facility, either."
A shift in tone
Christ wrote that she was revising guidance for primary care providers due to their "continued work on the front lines."
"There are concerns that if primary care clinics close, it will overwhelm the emergency rooms and hospitals, and could potentially impact deaths far beyond those from COVID-19," she wrote.
The new recommendations are dramatically different in tone than statements made by Christ just a few weeks ago, when she indicated the state had enough test kits to meet demand.
In a set of new guidelines issued Wednesday, Health Department Director Dr. Cara Christ said providers "should consider removing this diagnostic 'tool' from their toolbox and managing patients with respiratory conditions as if they have COVID-19."
"Keep working with your commercial vendors for testing, but do not depend on having test results for your management," Christ wrote. "There is no specific treatment or management strategy (for COVID-19), and results should not change clinical management."
Given a shortage of personal protective equipment, Christ also advised health care professionals to move testing outdoors, if possible, and to reuse equipment. Going outdoors could help limit the exposure of staff and other patients, she wrote.
She encouraged doctors to send patients with more severe symptoms to "higher levels of care" but noted: "There may not be testing indicated or available at the higher level of facility, either."
A shift in tone
Christ wrote that she was revising guidance for primary care providers due to their "continued work on the front lines."
"There are concerns that if primary care clinics close, it will overwhelm the emergency rooms and hospitals, and could potentially impact deaths far beyond those from COVID-19," she wrote.
The new recommendations are dramatically different in tone than statements made by Christ just a few weeks ago, when she indicated the state had enough test kits to meet demand.
Link: https://www.azcentral.com/story/news/local/arizona-health/2020/03/26/coronavirus-tests-cara-christ-wants-primary-care-providers-stop-covid-19-testing/2923164001/
I knew our situation wouldn't be good, but it's hard to believe it's this damned bad this damned early. Arizona's own projections show infections peaking in mid April and hospitalizations peaking in May! The solution: Stop testing.
7 replies
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