Doctors worry the coronavirus is keeping patients away from US hospitals as ER visits drop

Dr. Rod Hochman speaks with CNBC on the importance of patients still coming in to seek non-COVID related treatments. Dr. Hochman recounts having to convince his brother-in-law to continue going to his necessary doctor’s appointments and ease his fears of catching the coronavirus from visiting the hospital.

“At Providence, the volume of heart attack patients fell by about 50% in March compared with the same month last year, Hochman said, adding that the notion that people have just stopped having heart attacks is “too good to be true.” He and other physicians suspect patients that have mild heart attacks or strokes — which would normally have sent them to the ER — are seeking treatment from family doctors or outpatient clinics or are forgoing it altogether as Covid-19 patients inundate hospitals across the country.  The consequences could last years, he said.”