Yesterday, Kentucky completed its highest week ever for new #COVID19 cases.

The most recent weeks are concerning for the beginning of exponential growth.

I’ll share some stats and more reflective thoughts in this thread.

1/9 Kentucky’s incidence rate map (#COVID19 cases/100k persons) is very ‘hot.’

5 counties are around 50 cases/100k, double the level necessary to be red.

Sadly, people disregarding social distancing and mask use appears to be contributing to the problem.

2/x

#COVID19 is like a casino. If you play long enough, when your luck runs out, the house always wins.

Folks, the USA and Kentucky are in for a world of hurt this autumn if we don’t pull ourselves together real fast.

1/10 The President of the United States has:
-the most powerful political office,
-the most secure house, helicopter, plane, etc., and
-some of the smartest scientists...

In the entire world.

The President of the United States is hospitalized with #COVID19.

2/10

I was asked yesterday at the press conference about hydroxychloroquine & chloroquine as treatments for #COVID19 At this time, medical research has not shown these medications to be meaningfully helpful for this disease. Here’s a short thread with just a handful of articles. /1 May 11: “...treatment with hydroxychloroquine, azithromycin, or both, compared with neither treatment, was not significantly associated with differences in in-hospital mortality.” ja.ma/2X4JEKO @JAMANetwork /2

#TeamKentucky, here’s a review our #COVID19 pandemic journey from March until now.

To begin:
1)Socially Distance
2)Wear a Mask 😷
3)Clean your Hands
4)Stay Home if Sick & Get Tested

Why? Keep reading. /1 In March, NYC showed us how rapidly and dangerously #COVID19 spreads. Hospitals were overrun. As of July 7, >71,000 New Yorkers have died from COVID19 in <6 months. Kentucky flattened this first potential curve through #HealthyatHome. Graphic 91-divoc.com /2

It’s straightforward - Wear a mask, socially distance, wash your hands, & get tested if sick. It shouldn’t require mandates. Let’s take a look again at what happens when folks choose poorly. /1 A little more detail on TX. /2

Folks, please take #COVIDー19 seriously. This is not a drill. A lot of people will get hurt if enough of us don’t wear masks, socially distance, and sanitize our hands. —>
L.A. County again closes restaurants amid coronavirus surge - Los Angeles Times latimes.com/california/sto… Or maybe Texas is more your style.

I was asked if KY breaks down #COVID19 PCR vs. serology studies. Yes. For those interested in the data, govstatus.egov.com/kycovid19 presents top line data updated daily. Through that website, you can access a Desktop Dashboard that also enables you to explore county-specific data. We present and break down various data on the website. Lab Confirmed positive requires a PCR + test result. Serology + tests and clinical diagnosis of #COVID19 via other means are reported as Probable positive.

Thx for your thoughtful and detailed blog post @markolschesky explaining DST and EHRs. I'm grateful to have a better understanding of the tech underlying the trouble. With that in mind, I’d like to reframe the frustration. @AmerMedicalAssn @EmergencyDocs @KHNews @HealthITNews 1/8

https://twitter.com/markolschesky/status/1059183969684602881

EHRs are a useful tool – I was quoted saying this in the KHN article. EHRs have many frustrations for clinicians, however, and most of us have found the political, healthcare business, and health IT communities at best slow, often resistant, to addressing our concerns. 2/8

RE: ER, monopoly insurers refuse to negotiate in good faith. They hide behind federal mandate (EMTALA) that ER must provide care & rely on patients, journalists, and lawmakers to bash the ER & blame ER for dysfunctional system. This is the @peterubel approach, too. 6/

https://twitter.com/StevenStackMD/status/939193310316507136

@peterubel Also, specific to ER, @peterubel conflates, confuses, or outright fails to mention unique circumstances. 7/

.@peterubel disappointing in his simplistic portrayal of the serious challenges we face. LONG thread. Skip to last few if want final punchlines. 1/19

https://twitter.com/peterubel/status/938431828595179520

@peterubel U.S. has healthcare cost crisis. Here, we appear to agree. From here, I think @peterubel applies the wrong “solutions” to misunderstood and/or misrepresented problems. 2/