People who missed out on health-related appointments and procedures during the COVID-19 pandemic were more apt to have hospital stays that may have been preventable, according to a study in The BMJ.
Researchers looked at data from seven studies covering 29,276 people in England. The data was recorded between March 2020 and August 2022 — starting at the height of the pandemic. In total, 35% of the people said their healthcare access was disrupted in some way during the pandemic. That could mean they missed a scheduled procedure, or they were not able to get in for a routine physical.
People who didn’t have access to procedures had 77% higher odds of being admitted to the hospital for a condition that could (at least in theory) have been treated without a hospital stay. They had 88% higher odds of being admitted for a chronic condition that didn’t necessarily need hospital care, 45% higher odds of an emergency urgent care admission (like something that could worsen suddenly and may warrant a hospital stay but should be treated outside of a hospital) and 57% higher odds of a hospital admission for any cause.
People who could not get to a medical appointment during the toime had 52% higher odds for hospital admission for any condition that would normally be treated outside of the hospital (like at an urgent care center). They had 46% higher odds of being admitted to a hospital, regardless of the condition.
“The external shock to the health system caused by the COVID-19 pandemic seriously disrupted access to healthcare and this impact is having negative impacts on hospital admissions that could potentially be preventable,” the authors said in a statement.
They said their results “highlight the need to increase healthcare investment to tackle the short- and long-term implications of the pandemic, and to protect treatments and procedures during future pandemics.”
