From the Eye of the Storm: Multi-Institutional Practical Perspectives on Neuroradiology from the COVID-19 Outbreak in New York City

Abstract

During the Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 (COVID-19) pandemic, neuroradiology practices have experienced a paradigm shift in practice, which affected everything from staffing, workflow, work volumes, conferences, resident and fellowship education, and research. This article highlights adaptive strategies that were undertaken at the epicenter of the outbreak in New York City during the past 4-6 weeks, as experienced by 5 large neuroradiology academic departments. ABBREVIATIONS:Indicates open access to non-subscribers at www.ajnr.org

Imaging Volume Trends and Recovery During the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Comparative Analysis Between a Large Urban Academic Hospital and Its Affiliated Imaging Centers

“…It was during this time that the WHO declared the COVID-19 outbreak a pandemic; together with subsequent CDC and American College of Radiology recommendations, this led to changes in not only our hospital system policies, but all health care systems across the United States to delay nonessential imaging studies as part of the widespread effort to slow the rate of new infections (10,16,17,20). The change in our hospital's and referring providers imaging orders, decision to suspend screening programs and nonurgent elective procedures, and patients' decisions to delay imaging, resulted in a 58% drop in weekly volume, which is comparable to the 20% to 60% decrease reported at other institutions (9,11,20,21). As daily new cases of COVID-19 began to decrease by April 17th, 2020, and as Massachusetts began easing restrictions in May, we observed a steady recovery of volume; by May 21st, the daily imaging volume recovered to 68% of pre-SOE daily volume averages-70% at the main hospital campus, and 66% at affiliated imaging centers (19).…”

COVID-19 pandemic: Early effects on pediatric rehabilitation medicine training

“…Almost half of PRM trainee respondents spent some time on research (46.7%), and another 40.0% spent time on independent study. The shift in roles away from inperson clinical duties that occurred for some trainees could have theoretically presented a unique opportunity for research, self-directed learning, academic writing, and grant application, including the reported higher receptivity of IRBs to COVID-19 research and data collection for retrospective analyses [29][30][31]. Of course, others in more impacted areas may not have had the increased availability for academic work.…”

Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) Imaging Austerity: Coming Back From the Pandemic

“…Since the pandemic began, many practices have limited the number of in-house staff and have increased work from home. The number of staff deployed in-house will continue to be based on multiple considerations, including IT capabilities, volume of hands-on procedures, required presence for pharmaceutical or contrast administration, oversight of on-site trainees, and the perceived value of "visibility" of radiologists at the hospital [1]. These factors will vary widely depending on the patient population being served (adult versus pediatric; multispecialty versus subspecialty settings).…”