The COVID-19 virus has wreaked havoc upon human lives, our economy, and our health care system. When the full extent of the danger posed by this virus became known, hospitals cancelled virtually all elective surgeries in order to have the capacity to treat what was expected to be a high volume of patients infected with the virus who would need acute care. The demand for ventilators and personal protective equipment (PPE) skyrocketed. Patients sometimes shared a single ventilator, and physicians, nurses and hospital staff had to re-use PPE and improvise in numerous other ways.

Hospitals and physician practices cancelled outpatient visits, and patients themselves have grown wary of going to their health care providers, fearing that they could become infected by providers, other patients, or during their commute to and from an office visit. Countless numbers of patients have postponed getting medical care and treatment, and only time will tell what effect these postponements will have on the health of the general population.