As humanity grapples with the social, economic, and political disruption caused by the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, many healthcare systems across the globe have been working to set appropriate expectations for patients being treated during these challenging times. As of June 8, 2020, there are close to 2 million COVID-19 cases in the United States with 112,000 deaths [coronavirus.jhu.edu]. As patient volumes increased, healthcare systems and state and federal governments scrambled to address critical shortages of COVID-19 test kits, personal protective equipment, pharmaceutical drugs, and medical equipment such as mechanical ventilators.
As humanity grapples with the social, economic, and political disruption caused by the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, many healthcare systems across the globe have been working to set appropriate expectations for patients being treated during these challenging times. As of June 8, 2020, there are close to 2 million COVID-19 cases in the United States with 112,000 deaths [coronavirus.jhu.edu]. As patient volumes increased, healthcare systems and state and federal governments scrambled to address critical shortages of COVID-19 test kits, personal protective equipment, pharmaceutical drugs, and medical equipment such as mechanical ventilators.