Physicians News Health news for doctors and patients.

As hospitals are overwhelmed with COVID-19 patients and staff are stretched to their limits, electronic medical record (EMR) documentation may suffer as a result of rushed, less detailed and error-prone entries. In the current medical malpractice climate, it is very important to maintain an accurate chart.

“This absolutely does not mean the pandemic is nearing an end,” according to an infectious disease expert. “Once you get past the peak, it’s not over until it’s over. It’s just the starting time for the rest of the response.”

Expect Round 2 of the coronavirus battle to return next Winter. As the U.S. nears the peak of the COVID-19 crisis, Dr. Robert Redfield, Director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, is already expecting another big hit of the virus before the end of the year.

The global pandemic has put medical staffing shortages in stark relief — and prompted a halt to the system overhaul. Veterans and military advocates say that, with the focus on fighting COVID-19, now is not the time to pursue major changes.

A new study found that chloroquine should not be used in higher dosages to treat COVID-19 due to potential harm to patients, specifically fatal heart arrhythmia.

Contact tracing starts with a call to someone who has tested positive for the coronavirus, and then follow-up with everyone that person was in close contact with — family, friends, colleagues or others they got closer than 6 feet from for more than a brief encounter.

Across the U.S., thousands of pediatric practices that provide front-line care for the nation’s children are struggling to adjust to a dire new reality.

Nearly a month into the declared pandemic, some health care workers say they’re exhausted and burning out from the stress of treating a stream of critically ill patients in an increasingly overstretched health care system.

Medical students should be allowed to serve as clinicians before the health care system reaches a physician breaking point.

Many experts agree that wearing a mask probably won’t keep people from getting the coronavirus, but it might help prevent those with the disease — especially those without symptoms ― from spreading it.