Mind The Gap: Maintaining Healthcare despite the Coronavirus 'HealthScare'​

Mind The Gap: Maintaining Healthcare despite the Coronavirus 'HealthScare'

Evading COVID and maintaining general health don’t need to be mutually exclusive – yet many patients are behaving as if they are.

“The AMA is very concerned that some Australians are putting off seeing their doctor or getting a test, investigation, or immunisation due to fears of contracting COVID-19.”

It has been about 7 weeks since we all went into lock-down to flatten the curve here in Australia, and we have most certainly achieved this goal. But fear of the virus has regular GP clinics running at a lower capacity as people stay away in droves concerned that a routine check-up could expose them to the coronavirus.

“Don’t put off visiting your doctor until it is too late,” Dr Bartone, AMA President, said.

But is this message reaching patients? And if so, is it delivered in a compelling way that inspires them to act on it? It doesn’t look like it:

"Most GP practices have seen a 20-30 per cent reduction in patient's coming in during the pandemic." observes Chance Pistoll, a GP and lecturer in primary care at Melbourne Medical School. “There is mounting evidence that people with chronic health problems are avoiding visits to the doctor,” Dr Pistoll said.

It is estimated there has been a 75 per cent reduction in diabetes tests ordered by GPs in Victoria and NSW, while referrals for new cancer diagnoses had fallen by around a third. Based on available data on diagnosis rates in Australia, over that time it is possible that we have missed, as a nation, up to 6,500 breast cancer cases.

"There is a real risk that we could see a significant upswing in mortality after the pandemic due to deaths from preventable illnesses," said Dr Pistoll.

The RACGP is encouraging use of emerging telehealth resources: “for those who can be treated via telehealth, we need to do everything possible to ensure they receive the same treatment as they always have.”

Campaigning for Care, not Brands

Maybe it is time the broader healthcare community rallied with the RACGP and adopted a ‘push strategy’ to activate patients to use emerging virtual channels to continue to diagnose and manage chronic conditions with their GPs?

This is an alternative communication approach to the traditional promotion of products to HCPs. In fact, Medicines Australia has issued a notice to industry that “healthcare professionals are being bombarded with promotional messaging unrelated to the current COVID-19 situation. This outreach is being labelled as insensitive and diverting resources away from more immediate priorities.”

We have already seen companies retract sales forces from the field (initially in response to the social distancing restrictions) and then place on hold on the development of future promotional materials to ‘let HCPs respond first and foremost to the crisis’; but as the curve flattens, and the restrictions remain tight, we have an immediate role to play reconnecting patients with their primary carers. This is by promoting the value of virtual proactive GP care itself; collaborating to deliver a public health message directly to patients to re-establish ongoing healthcare management with their GPs, and helping them to access the alternative means to do this. After all, a rising tide lifts all boats, and this would include the ones patients are anxiously isolating in while their chronic conditions are poised to take a turn for the worse.

We are collectively presented with this opportunity to regain momentum on the diagnosis and management of chronic conditions that, if untreated, will result in potentially irreversible health consequences. I’d love to see an industry-led ‘Did you call your Doctor today?’ style of campaign. Even better, I'd love to work on it!

After all, turning ‘I’ in ‘illness’ into ‘we’
= ‘wellness’

(...thanks to Malcolm X for that one!)

Here’s to hoping that bodies like the AMA, RACGP, State-based Health organisations and members of Medicines Australia collaborate to undertake such a campaign if the coronavirus is going to continue to prevent preventative healthcare. We would all be better off for it!


Shanny Dyer

Director and Advisor, Health and Life Sciences

4y

A point well made Julia. A number of the peak bodies work together through this pandemic and in 'normal' times as well on issues important in the sector. I agree we should work together on this Peter Komocki and Medicines Australia to ensure that we don't have a second wave of disease prevalence that could have been avoided. GP's have adapted well to phone consultations so it isn't difficult to get your prescriptions written and filled.

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