The Portuguese Medical Association, following the outbreak of the new coronavirus and in view of what is known so far, decided to issue a set of recommendations that aim to contribute positively to a better monitoring of what is happening on the ground, to empower health institutions in order to be able to respond quickly to logistical and human resource needs and to contain the transmission of cases in Portugal:
- Creation of a specific financing line for COVID-19, which allows health institutions to act with autonomy, adaptability and speed to face a very dynamic situation;
- Clear identification of a chain of command, led by the Directorate-General of Health, which communicates clearly and serves as a link between the various stakeholders;
- Urgent publication and wide dissemination of the National Contingency Plan;
- Designation of a new director for the National Program for the Prevention and Control of Infections and Antimicrobial Resistance (PPCIRA), which has been without leadership for more than six months;
- Asymptomatic doctors who return from areas affected by the coronavirus, with active transmission in the community, should evaluate with the respective institution, namely with the occupational health services, the measures to be taken;
- Doctors should not go to medical and scientific meetings, national or international, that are not strictly essential, recommending the Portuguese Medical Association that the scientific meetings scheduled for our country may be postponed;
- The Directorate-General for Health should improve all the information disclosed and adapt its website so that it is navigable through smartphones, the medium currently most used by both health professionals and citizens;
- Dissemination and wide implementation of the rules for the protection of health professionals and ways of monitoring patients, whether in outpatient or inpatient settings.
The Portuguese Medical Association reiterates its total trust in the Directorate-General for Health and its willingness to collaborate with the competent authorities in whatever they deem necessary, recalling that it also created a multidisciplinary Crisis Office in January to monitor this outbreak.
Lisbon, 02 of March of 2020
President of the Portuguese Medical Association
The Crisis Office of the Portuguese Medical Association
Versão em Português: AQUI