Behind the Mask from Havas Health & You
In early Spring 2020, the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic provided a US Primary Care Physician with an opportunity to support his community in a new way – He and his team decided to volunteer on the Covid hotline. This act not only reframed how he viewed the impact of the pandemic, but how he […]
For a Neurologist in the UK, reflecting on the 2020 pandemic effort leads to strong positives AND negatives, in how it has been handled in his country overall. At the top of his list of positives, he’s been able to see firsthand the strength of his colleagues. “Despite years of working a very difficult and […]
Staying open in a closed economy. For a US-based Neurologist, the COVID-19 pandemic forced him into into a whole new type of battle, and one he wasn’t prepared for. Because while businesses were shutting down, and everyone was staying inside, he found himself doing everything he could to keep his practice up and running. “I recall learning the word “Pandemic” […]
In our piece about readiness of healthcare systems to wave 2 of the pandemic “Were we ready for round two?” we looked at the impact of the pandemic on healthcare systems overall readiness. In this article, we will focus on the care of long-term patients with chronic conditions to provide some interesting insights into the […]
The second wave has been a test of self-discipline and trust in others also playing their part. The hardest part of noticing a trend towards an upward swing of cases (and the inevitable deaths that sadly follow) is the knowledge that for a brief time it almost looked like the virus was under control. The […]
Blindsided by furloughs and financial insecurity In the US, the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on a Physician’s Assistant were personal. Because while the pandemic started almost as a non-event, its first true impact came in a form that took her and her ER colleagues completely by surprise . “When COVID first started spreading across the […]
In the lull between waves one and two of the pandemic, our Behind the Mask surveys found that people were evenly split as to whether or not healthcare systems would be able to cope with another wave. This uncertainty was generally evenly distributed across geographies, and among patients, payers and doctors, but some differences have […]
In times of great hardship and turmoil, communities often come together to support each other and overcome. And COVID-19 has been no exception. Across the world local volunteers have worked to support their community by offering up their own personal skills.
The Hippocratic oath. When doctors take it, they’re agreeing to care for their fellow human beings no matter what, and sometimes in ways only they know how. But when COVID-19 began to spread rapidly across the globe, it was this oath that was put to its finest test. As cases rose across the globe so […]
As the pandemic rolls on, general fears about the virus and many worldwide governments announcing order to stay home unless ill, led the way for technology to influence how healthcare systems continue to work.
The COVID-19 pandemic has provided an opportunity for many to lean heavily into telework and digital medicine, but for one UK based cardiologist, it’s led him to reevaluate his work/life balance in a way he’s never been able to before. “Ends up that going to see patients in person is largely overrated. Certainly in ITU, […]
The COVID-19 pandemic left one German pulmonologist with the realization that the healthcare systems he relied upon were much less robust than he had assumed. In particular, he felt that the government, in whom he had placed significant trust, was simply not up to the task. “In the beginning of COVID in Germany, our politicians […]
For a German cardiologist, the onset of the pandemic led to him reevaluate his ability to rely on a supply of necessary equipment when a true global emergency arose. What had appeared robust, was in fact an illusion: “The German health care system was actually quite professional and in…a good situation. But when the COVID […]
For a US Rheumatologist, the COVID-19 pandemic initially presented an opportunity to step up and contribute in a large-scale way, but she quickly felt ill-supported in doing so. “As medical students, we always dreamed of being called to duty and to truly help someone. Now we get to do this. At first, I felt grossly […]
As part of Behind the Mask, many different stakeholders were asked about their healthcare systems, as well their main concerns relating to COVID-19. In the latest survey of 210 respondents, only three* reported no fears at all. Others described 335 individual concerns, categorised into three similarly sized domains: As shown above, 29% of participants reported […]
For a primary care physician in a small town in Germany, the pandemic may have strained the close-knit nature of her practice, but it was the way her patients showed gratitude to the hard-working doctors that became the light to guide them through the initial dark times. “Our lives have changed. Normally, our medical office […]
For a Chief Medical Officer of a large hospital based in the US, the COVID-19 crisis has been a driving force in accelerating some key changes in the medical delivery system; leading to urgent re-examination of those practices. But unexpected consequences have also caused drawbacks in other critical areas. Something he’s seen acknowledged at an […]
An English GP working on the healthcare front lines from the very beginning reported on pandemic’s impact on her job and how she’s had to embrace technology to rapidly adapt to the changes it’s brought; bringing her practice online and completely digitalizing it. Like everyone, she’s had to learn how to deal with new problems […]
As we continue to study the impact of COVID-19 from clinicians’ point of view, the Behind the mask team is finding strong evidence that doctors find themselves caught between powerful forces—their desire and oath to help patients and their communities, a healthcare system that has placed them in a position of maximum accountability without commensurate […]
The HH&Y Behind the mask study is tracking provider and patient attitudes and experiences through the pandemic. It has shown that the impact of technological changes is ubiquitous, starting especially during lockdown in places like the UK and Germany, and continuing today. Beyond the immediate disruption, these changes have proven, somewhat ironically, to be upgrades […]
Since the practice of medicine began, healers have held a special, almost exalted place in society. In turn, their obligation to their patients and to society at large was considered “holy” in a very real sense. This dynamic has continued to the present day; doctors and nurses swear an oath pledging their commitment to their […]