Should Ontario surgeons punch the clock on weekends? The premier thinks so

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⇒ Issue #113 (In numerology, 113 is an expression of serious intent, with wit.)
⇒ Confirmed Covid cases in Canada as of 09/23: 148,885*
⇒ Confirmed Covid fatalities in Canada as of 09/23: 9,289*
⇒ Worldwide Covid cases as of 09/23: 31,638,070*
⇒ Worldwide Covid fatalities as of 09/23: 971,483*

September 23, 2020—It’s Wednesday in Etobicoke, Ont., and this issue of the Daily CurveFlattener is coming to you from the Chronicle offices, tapped out by editorial director Allan Ryan. The eight-floor Chronicle office tower seems pretty deserted these days, with probably less than 25 per cent of companies in the building showing much inkling to return to a regular work routine after the March Covid-19 lockdown and with the second wave of the pandemic on the (near) horizon. 

In Ontario, the backlog of surgeries caused by Covid-19 may take as long as 18 months to clear, according to a new survey. 

A study in the Canadian Medical Association Journal says the estimated time to clear surgeries postponed by Covid-19 is 84 weeks. That prediction is based on the goal of 717 surgeries performed per week, every week.

How will hospitals manage that number of procedures? Ontario Premier Doug Ford says surgeons should start punching the clock on weekends. 

“We’re working with our minister of health and our health table to see if we can open up a lot of these surgery rooms,” Premier Ford said at a news conference. “We have funding to ask the docs … and the hospitals to open up surgeries, start working Saturdays and Sundays to get rid of the backlog.”

Meanwhile, a new paper from researchers at the University of Michigan, published in the Annals of Surgery, proposes ways to address the backlog without compromising patient outcomes. “As a surgeon, I understand why hospitals needed to delay many elective surgeries to ensure there was enough space and health care workers available to take care of the sickest patients with COVID-19,” Dr. Jessica Billig, lead author of the paper told Science Daily. 

“But we know that continuing to delay these surgeries could result in poor health outcomes for our patients. Which makes us ask, how can we start to work through the backlog of surgeries efficiently and swiftly?”

Their proposed solutions include: 

Continue to grow telemedicine, expand operating room schedules and ambulatory surgery center capacity, and be transparent with patients about surgical billing. Many patients are experiencing unemployment and strains on finances, so physicians should provide patients with transparent pricing for elective surgeries or surgeries not covered by government plans or insurance. Surgeons should also consider location when booking a procedure—a clinic may be more cost-effective for the patient than a hospital.

The NPC Podcast is back. The organizers of the National Pharmaceutical Congress are proud to release our new weekly podcast series, hosted by Peter Brenders. Peter's guest this week is Sheila Frame of Sandoz. Listen here now, or download the episode and play it at your convenience. The NPC Podcast is presented in cooperation with Impres Pharma

COVID CHRONICLE 09/23/2020

• Vaping has been linked to Covid-19 risk in teens and young adults, according to a paper published in the Journal of Adolescent Health. According to the study from the Stanford University School of Medicine, vapers have a much higher risk of contracting Covid-19 than non-vapers—five to seven times higher. 
  
• A New Brunswick physician who was tagged with causing a Covid-19 outbreak in the province has received a letter of support from more than 1,500 colleagues across the country. They allege that Dr. Jean Robert Ngola was treated unfairly when he was blamed for causing the outbreak "prior to due diligence being conducted." Dr. Ngola had crossed the border into Quebec and failed to quarantine upon his return to Campbellton, N.B. He was later diagnosed with Covid-19. The letter in support of Dr. Ngola was prompted after an investigation by the CBC’s Fifth Estate TV program cast doubt on the assertion that Dr. Ngola was so-called ‘patient zero’ in the New Brunswick outbreak. 
  
  
• Yesterday, Sanofi and GSK announced they have signed agreements with Ottawa to supply up to 72 million doses of adjuvanted Covid-19 vaccine. According to a press release, Sanofi is leading the clinical development and registration of the vaccine, and a Phase 1/2 study was initiated on Sept. 3 with a total of 440 subjects. The companies anticipate results in early December 2020 and will then commence a Phase 3 study if warranted. 

WHAT CHRONICLE IS WORKING ON TODAY

Senior Editor John Evans has filed an article on curettage plus cryosurgery vs. curettage plus electrodesiccation for treating BCC, SCC. The report is scheduled to be published in an upcoming issue of The Chronicle of Skin & Allergy.

WHAT'S ON THE MENU TONIGHT

Looks like a call to a local pizzeria will be the plan for this evening. After all, it’s sports on the telly and the Stanley Cup finals (really? In September?). Between Tampa Bay and Dallas it’s a toss-up who will be hoisting Lord Stanley’s hardware, but there’s no question which pizza purveyor in my area uses the freshest mushrooms, green olives and tomatoes. And the crust is good and crisp, too. Go Stars.

THE HAND-OFF

Please make use of the comments section at the Daily CurveFlattener, to let us know what you're up to today. Chronicle publisher Mitch Shannon will take the wheel tomorrow.