The move is largely a response to the tremendous increase in virtual care visits during the coronavirus public health emergency, according to Aon’s new report released Thursday. That shift in consumer behavior has led 36% of employers to say they are interested in exploring a virtual-directed health plan model with an online primary care platform that directs all care, including coordination with traditional health providers.

Going without needed treatment had consequences, as one-third of the adults (32.6%) who reported delaying or forgoing care said one or more of their health conditions worsened as a result, or their ability to work or perform other daily activities was limited.

During coronavirus patient surges, hospital ICUs often become inundated with severely ill patients. The COVID Line Team at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center has increased the efficiency of placing central and arterial lines in coronavirus patients and freed up precious time for the dedicated ICU clinical staffs.

The document is first in a series of Joint Commission alerts that address healthcare workers’ concerns and provide guidance on how to respond to crisis, preparing them for the often-overwhelming circumstances of caring for patients during a pandemic. One Iowa nurse quoted in the publication explained in stark terms how the continuing onslaught of COVID-19 is pushing nurses and other frontline healthcare workers beyond physical exhaustion and inflicting emotional damage on those who care for patients.

Key measures offered in the guidance for limiting the spread of COVID-19 include separating and sending home infected or potentially infected people in the workplace, implementing physical distancing, installing barriers where physical distancing cannot be maintained, and using face coverings.

You will need space to take a patient history (including any previous allergic or anaphylactic reactions to food, drugs, or insects), to administer the vaccine, to provide at least 15 minutes of observation for adverse reactions afterward, and an area to care for anyone who does have a reaction—all while maintaining the same social-distancing and infectious-disease precautions you’ve had since the pandemic began.

The poll, which is based at the University of Michigan’s Institute for Healthcare Policy and Innovation, also shows that the some of the widest gaps in patient portal usage are among older adults who are at the highest risk of developing a severe case of COVID-19. 

People have been deferring care during the pandemic due to fear of contracting the coronavirus in healthcare settings. For five kinds of cancer, reduced cancer screening linked to the coronavirus pandemic has likely led to thousands of delayed cancer diagnoses, according to an IQVIA Institute report. For the three-month period ending June 5, 2020, the IQVIA Institute estimates there could have been more than 80,000 delayed positive diagnoses for breast, cervical, colorectal, lung, and prostate cancer.

Vaccination hesitancy among the American public is one of the primary challenges facing the coronavirus vaccination effort across the country. Vaccination is widely viewed as essential to controlling the coronavirus through herd immunity, which occurs when a large proportion of a population develops resistance to an infection.