Covid-19 Created an Elective Surgery Backlog. How Can Hospitals Get Back on Track?

October 16, 2020 Dana Barnard

The problem is that the “elective” in elective surgery is largely a misnomer, serving only to distinguish between emergent care and non-emergent care. While “elective” implies optional, most elective surgical cases fall somewhere between vital preventative measures (e.g. screening colonoscopy) and essential surgery (e.g. cataract removal). Ample literature across surgical specialties demonstrates worse patient outcomes and higher costs when these treatments are delayed. Together, these factors have resulted in an astounding number of patients failing to receive the medical attention they need. (One recent study predicts that the post-pandemic backlog will exceed one million cases for spinal fusions and joint replacements in the field of orthopaedic surgery alone.) This anticipated demand in combination with health providers’ decreased capacity will likely result in creation of wait lists and potentially worsened health impacts on patients.

Harvard Business Review 08/2020

In this rapidly changing environment, an article from two months ago might seem dated and of little worth. I just read “Covid-19 Created an Elective Surgery Backlog. How Can Hospitals Get Back on Track?” in the Harvard Business Review, August 10, 2020, and found it quite interesting and useful. The backlog of surgeries, against a backdrop of a still disruptive virus, is not going away soon.