If you are having a heart attack or have been in a car accident, there is a chance you will need to have a medical or surgical procedure right away. Many procedures are urgent and must be done even in the midst of a global pandemic. Elective procedures are those that are often scheduled days to weeks in advance and often could be postponed without causing great harm. For example, most total joint replacements are elective, but transplants and cancer surgery are not.
As a member of the president’s Coronavirus Task Force—and a practicing physician—I am calling on all hospital systems to heed federal recommendations and cancel or delay nonessential elective procedures in a way that minimizes potential harm to patients. These include dental procedures as well. As both Vice President Mike Pence and Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, have said, this move is imperative for our national COVID-19 response for several reasons.
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