Tsunami of economic turmoil to hit the healthcare in 2021-2022: COVID-19 pandemic is just an earthquake

COVID-19 Induced Economic Slowdown and Mental Health Issues

“…According to their estimation, the 3 weeks of the most repressive outbreak period in Italy reduced the corresponding national GDP by about 30% (Fezzi and Fanghella, 2020). Another research suggested that the estimated GDP loss caused by COVID-19 related unemployment had reached 7.6 trillion, and the overall estimated GDP decline resulted from the pandemic was 3.4% (Arredondo et al, 2021). China, as the only country with no negative GDP growth, also encountered a huge challenge in the economic development due to COVID-19.…”

“…The sharp decrease in healthcare utilization can lead to turmoil within the healthcare system. Besides, the post-pandemic increase in healthcare facilities admission of indigent patients, medical reimbursement decrease, and high operating costs to main healthcare workers are all contributing factors to the tsunami of healthcare system induced by COVID-19 (Arredondo et al, 2021).…”

“…In Hong Kong, the unemployment rate increased from 3.7 to 4.2% and the underemployment rate jumped from 1.5 to 2.1% between January and March (Kaur et al, 2020). An inevitable side effect of losing jobs is the loss of their insurance coverage, which further adds burdens to unemployed families, especially those with patients of chronic disease or preexisting mental health disorders (Arredondo et al, 2021).…”

Strategies to Improve Safety Culture in the Hospitals

“…Emergency Department (ED) overcrowding, increased admissions/discharges ratio, increased length of stay (LOS), and turnover of the clinical and non-clinical staff has resulted in unsafe climates in the hospitals, particularly for patients. Once it seems achievable, it now looks like a distant dream, a vision of zero harm and implementation of the National Patient Safety Foundation's (NPSF) safety tools [1,2].…”