COVID-19 Prevention in the Urological Community
In This Article
- Anthony S. Fauci, MD, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) and member of the White House Coronavirus Task Force, recently addressed the urological community with update on COVID-19 risk and prevention
- Massachusetts General Hospital urologist Adam Feldman, MD, MPH, discussed some key takeaways from Dr. Fauci's address, including the impact that COVID-19 has had on urologic care
- Dr. Feldman said that physical distancing must continue in urological practices around the country in order to protect at-risk patients
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At the American Urologic Association's 2020 Live Virtual Experience, Anthony S. Fauci, MD, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) and member of the White House Coronavirus Task Force, provided an update on the enduring risk of COVID-19 transmission and the public health measures that can help reduce the impact of the virus.
Dr. Fauci's address touched on important topics related to urologic care during the pandemic, according to Adam S. Feldman, MD, MPH, director of the combined Harvard Urologic Oncology Fellowship, urologic oncologist at Massachusetts General Hospital Cancer Center and urologist with the Mass General Department of Urology. Dr. Feldman noted that at-risk patients tend to be older with comorbidities—including hypertension, diabetes and obesity—and that these patients are common in a busy urology practice.
Dr. Feldman said that the Mass General Department of Urology has implemented measures, like limiting in-person visits and heavily increasing virtual care, maximizing efficiency for necessary in-office procedures and, during the height of the pandemic, conducting urology procedures in a shift-work manner.
Dr. Feldman also said that physical distancing and the use of face masks are still the most effective forms of prevention, adding that continuing virtual care will be critical to recovery efforts over the coming months.
"As we look at the road ahead, the urological community will have to continue sharing best practices and institution guidelines for patient/surgical procedure selection process in order to come up with the best care for all of our respective patients," Dr. Feldman said.
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