The initial COVID-19 surge this spring overwhelmed hospitals in New York City, forcing them to implement crisis standards of care. The experience highlighted many opportunities to improve future planning and implementation of these standards, according to a report from the Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security in Baltimore.
In October, Johns Hopkins convened a group of 15 intensive care unit directors from New York City hospitals to discuss their experience implementing crisis standards of care this spring.
The critical care physicians shared numerous lessons and suggestions to improve crisis standards of care. Below are four.
1. Crisis standards of care planning should be more operational and involve more clinicians.
2. Healthcare organizations should issue a formal declaration that crisis standards of care are in effect. The declaration should include specific clinical guidance about which resources and processes the standard applies to.
3. Rapid decision-making processes that involve numerous physicians should be used to make triage decisions, rather than a "cumbersome committee structure," the leaders said.
4. Physician leaders must have better situational awareness about patient loads, resources and changing guidelines or policies. They also need to develop an effective way to share this information with their teams.
To view the full report, click here.