The number of cardiovascular procedures performed in Australia is expected to go down in 2020 compared to 2019 due to the COVID-19. The pandemic will have a negative impact on the number of elective cardiovascular procedures performed with most of them being delayed, says GlobalData, a leading data and analytics company.
According to GlobalData’s Medical Intelligence Database, the total number of cardiovascular procedures, including diagnostic and interventional, performed in Australia were about 600,000 in 2019. About 35% of the cardiovascular procedures are elective procedures, which include catheter ablation, ventriculography, myectomy, endarterectomies, annuloplasties, explorations, embolectomy, and thrombectomy procedures among others.
Increasing number of COVID-19 cases in Australia has led to a negative impact on number of elective cardiovascular procedures performed. Several elective cardiovascular procedures have been delayed to free up beds for COVID-19 affected patients as well as mitigate the spread of the virus infection.”
Anusha Kaushik, Medical Devices Analyst at GlobalData
In Australia, elective procedures have been categorized to determine the urgency of the procedure. This allows for critical cases to be attended faster compared to less critical ones.
Healthcare facilities should review the elective procedures periodically based on the availability of beds. In case of fewer COVID-19 patients being admitted, the number of elective procedures should be increased as more beds become available. Rapid discharge strategies can be employed, including same-day discharge for elective percutaneous coronary interventions and next-day discharge for stable non-ST segment elevation myocardial infarction following revascularization. This allows for more elective procedures to be performed.”
Anusha Kaushik
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