Uncertainty and COVID-19: how are we to respond?
Jonathan Koffman, Jamie Gross, Simon Etkind, Lucy Selman
Abstract
As if writing prophetically about the global Covid-19 pandemic, in 1984 Eddy suggested, “Uncertainty creeps into medical practice through every pore. Whether a physician is defining a disease, making a diagnosis, selecting a procedure, observing outcomes, assessing probabilities, assigning preferences, or putting it all together, he (or she) is walking on very slippery terrain” 1. Covid-19 has rapidly become a disease associated with unbridled uncertainty with its aetiology and management, for the healthcare systems and health professionals who provide care, and among its ultimate victims, patients and their families.
Topics & Concepts
Health careCoronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19)PandemicPsychologyDiseaseAffect (linguistics)Actuarial scienceMedicineRisk analysis (engineering)BusinessEconomicsPathologyInfectious disease (medical specialty)CommunicationEconomic growthHealthcare cost, quality, practicesClinical Reasoning and Diagnostic SkillsPalliative Care and End-of-Life Issues