Addressing America’s Looming Healthcare Gap Crisis During COVID-19

While putting off care during the initial onset of the coronavirus made sense, continuing to do so will affect long-term outcomes. Here’s how providers can get patients back on track.

Chronic and preventive care has taken a hit amid the COVID-19 outbreak, with at least one report suggesting primary care visits are down as much as 60 percent.

While temporarily putting off preventive and elective care may have been necessary in the initial months of COVID-19, this trend carries long-term risks: If patients don’t receive non-emergent care, health outcomes will decline. And for many patients — like the 40-year-old woman who forgoes a breast cancer screening, or the senior who avoids a flu shot — the consequences could be dire.