State grants radiologists immunity from lawsuits, deploys boat-based imaging amid pandemic
New York is taking dramatic steps to slow the spread of COVID-19, including granting radiologists and other providers immunity from civil liability claims for injury or death during the response.
Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s March 23 executive order also eliminates doc supervision requirements for physician assistants and nurse practitioners, among other provider types. The coronavirus has ravaged the Empire State this month, logging 40,000 cases and 500-plus deaths as of Friday. With hospitals overwhelmed, the U.S. Navy is deploying hospital ships to New York and California—each equipped with a CT scanner, four radiology suites and 12 operating rooms.
Cuomo further announced Thursday, March 26, that the state is scouting new locations for temporary hospitals in downstate New York.
"We know at this point that any scenario will overwhelm the capacity of our healthcare system and we are continuing to work aggressively to increase our state's hospital capacity and flatten the curve," Cuomo said in a statement. “This situation is not easy, but easy times don't forge character—hard times do—and we will get through this together and be better and stronger people for it."
The governor’s order outlined numerous other steps to bolster care capacity—allowing rads and other medical students to practice without a clinical affiliation agreement and lifting 80-hour weekly work limits; suspending typical record-keeping requirements; and revoking hospital operating certificates if they don’t halt elective procedures. It also allows licensed radiologic technologists in good standing —including those from out of state—to practice without registration, avoiding any civil or criminal penalty.
Radiology providers appear to be taking their own steps to help stem COVID-19’s spread in the state. Radnet-affiliated New York Radiology Partners, for one, is screening all staff and patients for symptoms of the disease. And those who are over 70 or with compromised immune systems are being urged to consult their primary care physician before receiving screening mammograms, according to its website.
“If you choose to come now, we will do our best to safely accommodate you, but be advised of the risk,” the practice noted.
Meanwhile, the Navy said its USNS Comfort will serve as a referral hospital for non-coronavirus patients currently admitted to land-based hospitals. This is aimed at allowing providers in New York City to focus their attention on individuals afflicted by the virus.
“The sheer strength of what the ship can do, from all the CAT scans, to full operating rooms and how fast it can be there to support different areas is awesome,” said Yeoman First Class Chad Williams said in a statement.
Marty Stempniak has covered healthcare since 2012, with his byline appearing in the American Hospital Association's member magazine, Modern Healthcare and McKnight's. Prior to that, he wrote about village government and local business for his hometown newspaper in Oak Park, Illinois. He won a Peter Lisagor and Gold EXCEL awards in 2017 for his coverage of the opioid epidemic.