Practices Turn to GoFundMe; ‘COVID Toes,’ Rashes
What your doctor is reading on Medscape.com:
MAY 10, 2020 — Here are the coronavirus stories Medscape’s editors around the globe think you need to know about today:
Medical Practices Use GoFundMe to Survive
The crowdfunding site GoFundMe has hosted numerous campaigns for individuals unable to pay their medical bills, and now private medical practices themselves are using the site to get financial help, Undark reports. The loss of patient revenue due to the COVID-19 pandemic has forced some practices to seek financial assistance in order to pay staff and to cover care provided to patients who have lost jobs and medical insurance.
One policy expert said the situation highlights problems with the US healthcare system. “It’s broken if patients have to use it, and it’s broken if doctors have to use it,” said Stephanie Woolhandler, from City University of New York, Hunter College.
Other public health experts expressed concern that crowdfunding tends to benefit those who are more socially connected, which could exacerbate healthcare disparities by rewarding practices who serve wealthier clients while isolating those serving lower-income people.
Fauci, Redfield, Hahn Self-Isolate
After two staff members at the White House tested positive for COVID-19, three top health officials have decided to quarantine themselves because they were exposed, reports the New York Times. All three are members of the White House’s coronavirus task force: Anthony Fauci, MD, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases; Robert Redfield, MD, director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention; and Stephen Hahn, MD, commissioner of the US Food and Drug Administration. All three officials said they would continue to work from home.
‘COVID Toes’ and Other Dermatologic Manifestations
Rashes associated with COVID-19 infection are numerous and difficult to pin down, but five patterns emerged from a study of 375 cases in Spain. Vesicular eruptions similar to chickenpox lesions were the earliest to appear, even before other symptoms; other manifestations were “pseudo-chilblains,” maculopapular eruptions, urticaria, and livedo or necrosis.
Pseudo-chilblains have garnered media attention as “COVID toes,” and are associated with milder disease course, whereas livedo and necrosis were associated with more severe illness and a poorer prognosis.
