One of the big concerns at the onset of the pandemic a couple years ago was that there would likely be a decline in preventative medical appointments. As medical providers restricted services, it became clear very quickly that this was going to be a problem that would need to be addressed in the future.
We are now starting to see the impact of restricting appointments. For example, new research indicates that the number of individuals who were diagnosed with rheumatoid arthritis declined by 20 percent during the first year of the pandemic. And while this might not seem alarming at first, there’s no indication that rheumatoid arthritis cases are declining in any other area. Because of this, the researchers conclude that the most plausible reason why fewer cases were diagnosed was because fewer people were seeing their doctors during this timeframe.
The research, which was recently published in The Lancet Rheumatology, also indicated that there is likely to be a spike in cases of rheumatoid arthritis in the coming years as the instances that should have been diagnosed are slowly discovered in the future. Additionally, the benchmarks of care that have been established when it comes to this type of rheumatoid arthritis were suspended during the pandemic. The individuals that were already diagnosed and receiving treatment for the disease were not getting the same quality of care that they would have received pre-pandemic. And because of the suspended benchmark measurements, measurements for the quality of life that these individuals are experiencing as a result of this will be impossible to estimate.
Unfortunately, this means that people are out there with medical issues that are not receiving proper attention or treatment. And this is just for rheumatoid arthritis. There are hundreds of other illnesses and conditions that are likely facing the same situation. People weren’t receiving proper diagnoses and care. As a result of this, the quality of life that they are now experiencing is lower.
The COVID-19 crisis was something that no one had ever seen before. At the beginning of it, no one was really sure what to expect, how to stay safe, or what the best policies were when it came to balancing life with safety. As time went by, we found that we didn’t need to restrict as many of our activities as we did, as long as we took safety precautions, such as distancing, wearing masks, and getting vaccinated, one it was possible to do so. Even with all of these safety measures, the virus is still around today. Thankfully, we are not seeing as many people pass away from the illness as we did, but in those early days, precautions were necessary to keep people alive.
The fallout with people not getting early diagnoses and treatment for things like rheumatoid arthritis, cancer, and cardiovascular disease is also quite severe. Oftentimes, severe health issues can be avoided or delayed if treatment starts quickly. We’re just now beginning to see what this means for seniors and older adults. The senior care industry will need to give these vulnerable individuals a lot of support in the coming years as more potential issues come to light.
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