Physician surveys show widespread concern about access to testing, medical supplies   

 

Two physician surveys highlighted widespread concern about access to adequate testing and medical equipment in response to the Covid-19 pandemic.

According to a survey of 2,610 physicians across the U.S., 73% of them reported not being able to test patients quickly and easily, a reflection of ongoing testing backlogs.

Even more concerning, 77% of U.S. physicians said they did not believe their hospital or clinic had adequate access to medical supplies and equipment to manage the crisis. In hard-hit areas, some healthcare providers have resorted to homemade face shields, or even wearing bandanas instead of masks, as the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention updated its guidelines to say  they can be worn a last resort.

The survey was conducted with networking website Doximity in conjunction with Harvard Medical School and RAND researchers. Physicians responded to the survey during the final week of March.

The survey also revealed some interesting results on perceived access to care and preparedness. Other notable results included:

• Nearly 60% of physicians said they didn’t think there were enough Covid-19 precautions in their clinical setting
• 70% of physicians said they did not think their government had adequately ensured that they had the needed medical supplies to address the pandemic.
• A whopping 80% of physicians said they had either switched to telemedicine visits or were planning to adopt the technology to treat patients remotely.
• On the other hand, 48% said they were concerned that patients were avoiding testing or treatment due to financial barriers.
• Physicians had mixed opinions about social distancing. The majority agreed these measures were necessary, but 59% of doctors said current measures are appropriate, while 28% said current measures are likely an under-reaction.

“As an emergency medicine physician, I see first-hand how these challenges are impacting day-to-day operations in the ER.  I practice in Chicago, and we’ve already begun to see patients in severe distress due to this pandemic,” Dr. Amit Phull, vice president of strategy and insights for Doximity, said in a news release. “The bottom line is that the issues flagged in this study, both at the clinical and system level, need to be addressed quickly for us to get and stay ahead of this.”

 

Perspectives around the world

A separate study conducted by Sermo put physician attitudes and responses to the pandemic in the context of other countries. The survey research company said it had interviewed a total of 6,200 physicians across 30 countries, including 2,576 in the U.S., 2,305 responses from Europe and 245 responses from China.

With respect to testing, Sermo found that 57% of U.S. physicians said it was far below the needed level, and 35% said it was somewhat below the needed level, meaning that only high-risk people with Covid-19 symptoms are able to get tested. In Europe, physicians were marginally more satisfied, with 45% of physicians saying testing was far below needed levels and 40% saying it was somewhat below needed levels.

Testing in other countries appears to move faster than the U.S., according to survey results. 36% of physicians in Italy and Spain and 42% of physicians in China said they could get test results within a day, compared to just 6% in the U.S. Physicians in the U.S. were also more concerned about access to testing kits than the rest of the world, though physicians everywhere reported concerns with access to personal protective equipment.

The survey also revealed different attitudes toward treatments. Across all countries, the three most commonly prescribed treatments were:

• 56% analgesics
• 41% Azithromycin
• 33% Hydroxycholorquine

But there was some variation in how Hydroxychoroquine was prescribed, with 72% of doctors in Spain and 49% of doctors in Italy prescribing it for Covid-19 patients, compared to 23% in the U.S.

The bottom line is that physicians across the world have a few common concerns: they’re worried about their health, their families and their patients. In the U.S., 47% of doctors said they were very concerned about catching the virus. 54% of the total survey respondents were worried about giving Covid-19 to their family members. Most said they and their patients were moderately or extremely stressed about the disease.

 

Charts courtesy of Doximity and Sermo.