In recent months, the health care system around the world has undergone significant changes. The cause of these processes is a new unknown virus, COVID-19, which is not yet treatable and causes serious health issues. Due to the speed of its spread, a huge number of people are affected, which leads to many negative consequences. Rutakirwa (2020) states that “the fatality rate of COVID-19 is about 2 percent” (p. 4). The main blow is held by the healthcare system, which is forced to work at the highest capacities. The purpose of this paper is to discuss changes in the healthcare sector in the current situation.
The main impetus for changes in medicine around the world was the increasing number of patients with pneumonia. This leads to the filling of hospitals and the need to use a large number of supplies. It also requires the mobilization of numerous medical workers to be able to help as many patients as possible. Unfortunately, not all countries and not all hospitals are prepared for such a situation. As a result, what is happening affects many systems and stakeholders: doctors work overtime, less attention is paid to other patients; hospital managers spend large amounts of money. This also affects government agencies, which must allocate a budget to fight disease. Manufacturers of medical equipment are involved in the process as well, forced to increase the number of supplies several times. However, now the health system is in the process of adaptation. New hospitals are being built, free spaces in existing hospitals are also given to the people infected. Doctors are inventing new means of fighting infection, for example, facial masks from improvised materials.
These changes have affected other areas of the medical system, making them less accessible. Now, most doctors are busy fighting COVID-19, so other diseases have faded into the background. In addition, all medical institutions strengthen preventive measures to avoid infecting new people. Thus, the state of the healthcare system is severe, but humanity is taking all measures to combat the virus. In part, this process can be called successful: hospitals and clinics are adapted for fighting the disease; scientists create new tests to detect the virus. The methods of treating pneumonia caused by a virus are becoming more streamlined as well. These positive changes give hope for an early victory in the fight against this disease. However, people should not forget that the pandemic can last a long time, and it will be useful for medical institutions to continue to adapt. Wu et al. (2020) argue that “for general population, travel to epidemic area of COVID-19 (mainly in China, especially Wuhan, Hong Kong and Macaw), contact, or eating wild animals is dissuaded” (p. 220). These basic measures are undeniably helpful, so people should follow them seriously.
The health care system is in a complicated situation, directing all its forces to the fight against a single virus. Undoubtedly, this will be beneficial for humanity in the future, as doctors and nurses will already have a plan of action in such a situation. However, it is undeniable that most countries face a considerable number of difficulties and losses. Even adapting to a problem, it is not yet possible to eradicate it. This means that the healthcare system needs to continue to work on improving the process of combating the virus and strengthening precautionary measures. This is the only way to avoid even more significant losses.
References
- Rutakirwa, T. (2020). Understanding CoronaVirus (COVID-19). Tonniez Publishing Press.
- Wu, Y., Chen, C., & Chan, Y. (2020). The outbreak of COVID-19. Journal of the Chinese Medical Association, 83(3), 217–220.