The COVID-19 pandemic resulted in more than 1.1 million deaths in the United States, and hundreds of those deaths were doctors who took care of patients on the front lines.
Altogether, 4,511 doctors died during the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic, between March 2020 and December 2021. Over this time, 622 were excess deaths among doctors, according to a new study, “Excess Mortality Among Physicians During The COVID-19 Pandemic,” conducted by researchers from Stanford University School of Medicine and the University of Southern California, Los Angeles used data from the American Medical Association (AMA) Masterfile and the corresponding Deceased Physician File.
Fortunately, once vaccines became available in the U.S. there were not any excess deaths among doctors after April 2021, the study noted. Across age groups, physicians fared better with substantially fewer excess deaths than the general population. Researchers aimed to look at the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on doctor mortality and understand pandemic trends.
“Measuring excess mortality allows us a partial view of the collateral damage caused by the pandemic,” Lindsey Carlasare, research and policy manager for the AMA and an author on the research letter along with Kirsten Bibbins-Domingo, MD, PhD, MAS, editor-in-chief of JAMA and JAMA Network, said in a statement. “Beyond the deaths directly attributable to the virus, we see the extended impact by quantifying the number of physicians deceased beyond what would have been expected under normal circumstances.”
One key takeaway from the study was that active physicians had lower excess mortality than nonactive physicians, though active physicians faced a higher risk of contracting COVID-19. Researchers assumed this was likely due to effective preventative measures, including personal protective equipment (PPE), vaccine requirements, infection prevention protocols, adequate staffing, as well as other workplace-based protective measures that reduced the spread of the virus. Older active physicians had higher excess deaths, and researchers suggested prioritizing protective measures for this group.
Among all active physicians, excess deaths peaked at 70 in December 2020, and a rapid drop followed suit in 2021, when vaccines became available. Overall, nearly 50 U.S. doctors more than expected died each month during the early days of the pandemic.
Amy joined TriMed Media as a Senior Writer for HealthExec after covering home care for three years. When not writing about all things healthcare, she fulfills her lifelong dream of becoming a pirate by sailing in regattas and enjoying rum. Fun fact: she sailed 333 miles across Lake Michigan in the Chicago Yacht Club "Race to Mackinac."