Afraid to go to the doctor or get your blood drawn because you might get exposed to COVID? Two things I want you to consider:
- Medical facilities can be some of the lowest risk places to visit during the pandemic due to strict sterilization, social distancing and mask wearing practices. We cannot afford not to.
- Delaying healthcare can have serious consequences in the future.
- Nearly half of the public says they skipped or postponed medical care because of the Coronavirus outbreak.
- Cardiologists have seen a resurgence in severe cardiac complications and damage during the pandemic that occur when a heart attack goes untreated. These complications were common in the 1960’s and 1970’s, but we’ve not seen them in decades.
- The National Cancer Institute predicts an excess of 10,000 deaths due to breast cancer and colorectal cancer because of missed screening in the year 2020.
- You may get sicker with COVID-19 if your chronic medical problems (e.g. diabetes, heart disease, high blood pressure) are not well controlled.
- Waiting to get care until you are really sick makes hospitalization more likely. And right now hospital staff are stretched very thin, and your hospital care may suffer.
- When COVID is finally under control, everyone who delayed care will return to their doctor, but they may have trouble getting an appointment because of pend up demand.