Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security Releases a National Action Plan for Expanding and Adapting the Healthcare System for the Duration of the COVID Pandemic

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Published

May 5, 2020 – The Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security has released a new report: “National Action Plan for Expanding and Adapting the Healthcare System for the Duration of the COVID Pandemic.”

The report addresses the urgent near-term key challenges faced now by healthcare facilities and healthcare workers in the pandemic, as well as the many vulnerabilities of our healthcare system and the longer-term structural reforms that are necessary to sustain it. The authors answer the following 10 questions and provide long- and short-term recommendations to adapt the healthcare system to make it more resilient to this and future epidemics and emergencies:

  1. How can we improve infection prevention in hospitals and maintain a robust supply chain for personal protective equipment (PPE)?
     
  2. What approach should we take to restarting deferred healthcare services?
     
  3. What financial support is needed for hospitals and healthcare providers?
     
  4. How should the healthcare workforce be sustained and augmented?
     
  5. How can we provide mental health support for healthcare workers in this crisis?
     
  6. How can we provide medical care and sick leave for all people in the United States?
     
  7. How can we make telemedicine a new normal?
     
  8. How can we reduce the number of undiagnosed infectious diseases in our hospitals?
     
  9. How can we better protect emergency medical services (EMS) personnel from infectious diseases?
     
  10. How can we better coordinate the healthcare response to COVID-19 and the next pandemic?

Read the full report.