Pandemics

Hospitals were at maximum capacity for weeks on end due to the rapid spread of the coronavirus. While medical professionals gave their full attention to those suffering from the epidemic, patients with other health concerns were often sent home from hospitals both for their own safety and to increase available space for COVID-19 patients. Those reliant on routine medical care or in need of other emergency care were left looking for ways to access medical professionals while staying safe. Thanks to telehealth, patients were able to get the medical attention they needed from the safety and comfort of their own home. Telehealth gained momentum quickly. In less than two weeks, Dean of School of Medicine and the CEO of Hopkins Medicine, Dr. Paul Rothman, said Johns Hopkins went “from providing a couple dozen telehealth visits a day before the pandemic to about 5,500 [telehealth visits] every day.” Dr. Rothman spoke about the effects of COVID-19 on world healthcare at the OurCrowd Pandemic Innovation Conference last month.  There are clear benefits to telehealth, namely the increased accessibility to the patient...

15-million cases and 617,000 deaths. To many, the quick spread and drastic transformation of society at the turn of the coronavirus pandemic was a shock. That’s not to say many didn’t see it coming: WHO published a strategic action plan for pandemic influenza in 2007 and in 2014 Bill Gates, representing the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, presented a TED Talk about his anticipation of both a pandemic and societal lack of preparation for such an international medical crisis.  The Gates Foundation has been making efforts to help mitigate the current crisis by creating global access to medical innovation. We invited Dr. Ruth Atherton, Deputy General Counsel and Director at the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, to speak at last month’s OurCrowd Pandemic Innovation Conference where she offered insight into what’s been going on and what we can expect.  “The world bank currently estimates that for the first time since 1998, global poverty could actually increase,” said Atherton. “Up to 49-million people may be pushed to extreme poverty, which means living on less than $1.90 a day.” Atherton stated...