80% to 85% of U.S. deaths due to COVID-19 are in people aged 60 and older. Approximately one-third of our nation’s doctors are 60 and older.

<hr />
<h3 align="center">
  80% to 85% of U.S. deaths due to COVID-19 are in people aged 60 and older.<br />
  Approximately one-third of our nation&rsquo;s doctors are 60 and older.
</h3>

<p align="center">
  (<a
    href="https://data.cdc.gov/NCHS/Provisional-COVID-19-Death-Counts-by-Sex-Age-and-S/9bhg-hcku"
    >CDC Provisional Death Counts by Age, Sex, and State</a
  >) and (<a
    href="file:///C:/Users/admat/Documents/Cross%20Country/Cheryl/View%20ORCID%20ProfileRohan%20Khera,%20Lovedeep%20Singh%20Dhingra,%20%20View%20ORCID%20ProfileSnigdha%20Jain,%20%20View%20ORCID%20ProfileHarlan%20Krumholz"
    >Khera, Dhingra, Jain, and Krumholtz</a
  >)
</p>

<p>
  <strong
    >These sobering statistics underscore our need to strategically safeguard
    our seasoned physicians.
  </strong>
</p>

<h2>COVID-19 Risk in Relation to Age</h2>

<p>
  In
  <em
    >Severe Outcomes Among Patients with Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19)</em
  >, the
  <a
    href="http://www.ecie.com.ar/images/paginas/COVID-19/4MMWR-Severe_Outcomes_Among_Patients_with_Coronavirus_Disease_2019_COVID-19-United_States_February_12-March_16_2020.pdf"
    >CDC</a
  >
  reports &ldquo;The risk for serious disease and death in COVID-19 cases among
  persons in the United States increases with age&hellip;31% of cases, 45% of
  hospitalizations, 53% of ICU admissions, and 80% of deaths occurred among
  adults aged &ge;65 years with the highest percentage of severe outcomes among
  persons aged &ge;85 years&rdquo;
</p>

<h2>Age Distribution Among the Physician Workforce</h2>

<p>
  Khera, Dhingra, Jain, and Krumholz recently published
  <em
    >An Evaluation of the Vulnerable Physician Workforce in the United States
    During the Coronavirus Disease-19 Pandemic</em
  >, in which they grouped publically available physician data from the
  Federation of State Medical Boards into 5-year age bins nationally and across
  each state. The researchers found &ldquo;of the 985,026 licensed physicians in
  the US, 235,857 or 23.9% were aged 25-40 years, 447,052 or 45.4% are 40-60
  years, 191,794 or 19.5% were 60-70 years, and 106,121 or 10.8% were 70 years
  or older. Age was not reported in 4202 or 0.4% of physicians.
  <strong
    >Overall, 297,915 or 30.2% of physicians were 60 years of age or older,
    246,167 (25.0%) 65 years and older, and 106,121 (10.8%) 70 years or
    older</strong
  >.&quot;
</p>

<h2>Compounded Risk for Physicians Over 60</h2>

<p>
  Doctors, especially those on the frontlines, are already at increased risk of
  contracting COVID-19 since they may be exposed to patients who are ill with
  the disease. And nearly 300,000 of these U.S. physicians have a compounded
  vulnerability due to their age. This presents a significant challenge within
  the physician workforce. Fortunately, hardship often engenders creative
  solutions, and health leaders love a good challenge.
</p>

<h2>Safeguarding Seasoned Physicians</h2>

<p>
  Personal ideologies regarding how to deal with exposure to the disease run the
  gamut; the individual physician and facility should confer to determine the
  appropriate course of action. Here are some measures healthcare leaders and
  doctors can consider taking to reduce exposure for providers over 60.
</p>

<ol>
  <li>
    Telemedicine. Allow physicians over 60 to conduct telehealth appointments,
    and use doctors who are at lower risk to treat patients in person.
  </li>
  <li>
    Training. Let older physicians focus on training new physicians, advanced
    practice professionals, and other medical staff, reducing exposure to
    patients.
  </li>
  <li>
    Research. Augment your organization&rsquo;s research output using higher
    risk physicians to expand the medical knowledge base.
  </li>
  <li>
    Administration. Consider whether any of your veteran physicians is qualified
    to transition into a leadership role. Is it time to fill a position, and if
    so, can you hire within?
  </li>
  <li>
    Marketing. Could your organization use one of your higher-risk physicians
    with strong writing skills to focus on white papers, case studies,
    interviews, videos, or other communications which could expand the business?
  </li>
  <li>
    Locum tenens. Supplement your staff with locum tenens doctors and APPs as
    you let your physicians over 60 shift into roles with reduced exposure. The
    locums arrangement is an affordable, flexible, temporary solution.
    You&rsquo;ll be protecting the health of your veteran physicians. You
    won&rsquo;t be making a time-consuming, long-term, permanent commitment, and
    once the risks subside, you can resume normal operations.
  </li>
</ol>

<h2>Locum Tenens Solutions with Cross Country Locums</h2>

<p>
  We&rsquo;d love to hear what creative solutions you&rsquo;ve implemented
  during the coronavirus pandemic to protect your team. Our skilled staffing
  professionals are ready to discuss how we can help you bolster your workforce.
  <a href="https://www.crosscountrylocums.com/contact-us">Connect with us</a> to
  see how locums tenens professionals fit into that evolving picture.
</p>

<h2>Total Talent Management with Cross Country Healthcare</h2>

<p>
  As the COVID-19 crisis exacerbates the existing physician shortage, long-term
  challenges may prove even more difficult than any of us can fathom. We believe
  locums providers will play a critical support role for providing transitional
  coverage during this period of uncertainty.
</p>

<p>
  At
  <a href="https://www.crosscountryhealthcare.com/">Cross Country Healthcare</a
  >, we not only provide locums physician and APP support through Cross Country
  Locums; we also offer total talent management and expansive offerings
  including
  <a href="https://www.crosscountrysearch.com/overview"
    >perm hire solutions for physicians</a
  >. From travel and local nurse and allied professional staffing to direct hire
  support of physicians, nurses, advanced practitioners, clinical and
  non-clinical support, we&rsquo;ve got you covered.
</p>


COVID-19: Safeguarding Seasoned Physicians