Abstract
Strategies to minimize preventable morbidity and mortality resulting from pandemics like COVID-19.
Highlights
The fundamental role of healthcare systems is minimisation of preventable morbidity and mortality in the population
The consequences of public health measures to interrupt infection chains, compounded by the perceived threat posed by pandemics, can exacerbate chronic and mental health-related conditions, and even trigger new ones
We have previously proposed the creation of essentially autonomous, local digital medical centres, initially in numbers and locality similar to current community primary care centres (Timmis and Timmis, 2017)
Summary
The fundamental role of healthcare systems is minimisation of preventable morbidity and mortality in the population. The combination of pandemic-induced re-prioritization of healthcare services, reductions in clinical capacities and availability of diagnostics and clinical supplies, hindrance of travel to care facilities, disincentives to seeking care, and clinical services hesitancy, creates a perfect storm that severely interrupts diagnosis-prevention(early)treatment care services. Large-scale testing of particular groups/sub-populations of asymptomatic individuals provides much greater detail and granularity to an emerging epidemiological overview of new outbreaks This in turn enables transmission prevention measures to be targeted more precisely and effectively to smaller regions/populations, resulting in less disruption to regional civil liberties and economies, and avoidance of unnecessary anxiety and stress.
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Free) 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a call
