DocTalk Podcast: Respiratory Health During COVID-19

“Even in our own healthcare system, it’s something we’ve talked about for years,” Albert Rizzo, MD, said. “And within a matter of weeks, we’ve ramped up the virtual systems in our practice.”

Rizzo, the chief medicine officer of the American Lung Association (ALA), was discussing the sudden and critical application of telehealth measures to respiratory clinics following the spread of coronavirus 2019 (COVID-19). But he may as well have been talking about overall public health preparedness measures: a viral pandemic of this extent is unprecedented in modern history, and public health relied on years of rhetoric to enact decisions needed within a moment’s time.

Now, a month removed since the first major actions to prevent COVID-19 spread were set in the US, Rizzo joined the HCPLive® DocTalk podcast to discuss the tiers of clinical impact the pandemic has had on respiratory health.

From understanding differences between COVID-19 and respiratory disease symptoms, to the implementation of telehealth practice, to explanation as to why—despite its overall burden on health—now may not be the best time for a patient to attempt in quitting cigarettes, Rizzo detailed the landscape of pulmonology practice and research during the coronavirus.

“There’s certainly a lot of unknowns regarding the therapies being utilized now in the hospitals,” he said.