SVS Announces New Collection of JVS Articles on Impact of COVID-19 in Treating Vascular Disease

May 6, 2020—The Society for Vascular Surgery (SVS) announced that a compilation of fast-tracked articles designed to proactively provide solutions to deliver the best care in the current COVID-19 environment has been published and organized as the COVID-19 Collection in the Journal of Vascular Surgery (JVS). SVS has also included a host of new COVID-19–specific resources for members on its website vascular.org and is hosting weekly town hall meetings for its members to communicate with experts.

The announcement noted that JVS has dramatically shifted communication with vascular surgeons and vascular specialists given the impact of the virus on lives globally to determine ways to prevent the spread of the infection, improve treatment of infected patients with co-existing vascular disease, and save the lives of both patients and health care professionals.

Topics in the collection of informative articles include telemedicine, practice changes, and the impact of treating patients with vascular health conditions and COVID-19 in areas across the world. The collection is regularly updated. More than 14 articles have been fast-tracked and published to date, including:

• Delivering High-Quality Vascular Care via Telehealth during the COVID-19 Pandemic by Grant T. Fankhauser, MD, which surveys the sweeping changes to the delivery of health care—including telemedicine—throughout the United States and other parts of the world
• A Military Perspective on the Vascular Surgeon’s Response to the COVID-19 Pandemic by Todd E. Rasmussen, MD, and Erin E. Koelling, MD, which includes an editorial evaluating military medicine's response in previous times of crisis to provide insight into how the surgical profession can optimize its response to the COVID-19 pandemic
• The Vascular Surgery Covid-19 Collaborative (VASCC) by Nicolas J. Mouawad, MD, et al, which discusses how vascular surgeons organized through social media both locally and internationally to work, understand and help predict the impact of COVID-19 on patient outcomes
• COVID-19 Financial Resources for Physicians by Bhagwan Satiani, MD, Todd A. Zigrang, MBA, and Jessica L. Bailey–Wheaton, Esq. This article includes survey results highlighting the financial impact of the pandemic on physician groups of all specialties and the myriad programs, including both grants and loans, to reimburse physicians for some expenses and loss of revenue.

“The JVS welcomes reports on personal and institutional experiences on how to improve vascular disease management while protecting our patients and the vascular care-givers during this crisis,” commented Peter Gloviczki, MD, Editor-in-Chief of JVS publications. “The series of articles is designed to collectively share best practices and communication among vascular health experts for delivering the highest quality care.” Dr. Gloviczki added, “We ask the experts who are on the front lines caring for patients with vascular disease to help patients stay as healthy as possible during these difficult times.”