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UCSF Takes Steps to Stop COVID-19 Spread, Ensure Patient Safety

The COVID-19 (coronavirus) outbreak has forced individuals across the globe into quarantine in order to reduce the spread of the virus, and at the University of California San Francisco (UCSF) Helen Diller Family Comprehensive Cancer Center, that includes all nonessential personnel, according to Thomas G. Martin, MD.

In addition, faculty at UCSF have converted up to 90% of in-person appointments to video consultations, and have prohibited visitors in the inpatient and outpatient facilities to limit patients and staff alike from potential exposure to the virus.

“The policies [we put in place to prevent the transmission of COVID-19] at UCSF are quite strict,” said Martin. “We also have to abide by the policies of the San Francisco Department of Public Health, which has done a tremendous job in leading the efforts to limit the transmission of the virus.”

In an interview with OncLive, Martin, clinical professor of medicine, Adult Leukemia and Bone Marrow Transplantation Program, associate director, Myeloma Program, UCSF, and co-leader, Hematopoietic Malignancies Program, Helen Diller Family Comprehensive Cancer Center, discussed the potential impact of COVID-19 on patients and the protocols UCSF has put into place to safeguard patients and providers, and provided guidance on the ways patients can protect themselves from the virus.

Published by OncLive.