PT  - JOURNAL ARTICLE
AU  - Adam E Berman
AU  - Douglas Miller
AU  - Robert A Sorrentino
AU  - Elias A Mossialos
TI  - Elective cardiovascular care in the era of the COVID-19 pandemic: managing tragic choices
AID  - 10.1136/bmjoq-2020-001069
DP  - 2020 Sep 01
TA  - BMJ Open Quality
PG  - e001069
VI  - 9
IP  - 3
4099  - http://bmjopenquality.bmj.com/content/9/3/e001069.short
4100  - http://bmjopenquality.bmj.com/content/9/3/e001069.full
SO  - BMJ Open Qual2020 Sep 01; 9
AB  - The COVID-19 pandemic has led to significant morbidity and mortality globally. As health systems grapple with caring for patients affected with COVID-19, cardiovascular procedures that are deemed ‘elective’ have been postponed. Guidelines concerning which cardiac procedures should be performed during the pandemic vary by specialty and geography in the USA. We propose a clinical heuristic to guide individual physicians and governing bodies in their decision making regarding which cardiac procedures should be performed during the COVID-19 pandemic using the behavioural economics concept of heuristics and ecological rationality.