Return to Normalcy? Principles on Resuming Surgical Services in the COVID-19 Era

Taher S Valika; Kathleen R Billings

doi:10.1177/2473974X20936658

Return to Normalcy? Principles on Resuming Surgical Services in the COVID-19 Era

OTO Open. 2020 Jun 11;4(2):2473974X20936658. doi: 10.1177/2473974X20936658. eCollection 2020 Apr-Jun.

Authors

Taher S Valika^{1

2}, Kathleen R Billings^{1

2}

Affiliations

¹ Division of Pediatric Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery, Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children's Hospital of Chicago, Chicago, Illinois, USA.
² Department of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery, Feinberg School of Medicine, Northwestern University, Chicago, Illinois, USA.

Abstract

The rapidly changing health care climate related to coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) has resulted in numerous changes to health care systems and in practices that protect both the public and the workers who serve in hospitals around the country. As a result, these past few months have seen a drastic reduction in outpatient visits and surgical volumes. With phased reopening and appropriate guidance, health care systems are attempting to return to normal. Our institution has had the unique opportunity to already return operations back to full capacity. The experiences and lessons learned are described, and we provide guiding principles to allow for a safe and effective return to patient care.

Keywords: COVID-19; communication; quality improvement; safety checklist.