Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis issued an executive order March 20 prohibiting medical providers from performing nonemergency surgeries until the end of the state of emergency over COVID-19.
The order applies to all hospitals, ambulatory surgery centers, office surgery centers, dental, orthodontic and endodontic offices or other health care practitioners’ offices in the state.
Nonemergency surgeries are those that can be delayed without placing a patient’s immediate health at risk or contributing to the worsening of a serious or life-threatening condition.
“Due to the outbreak of COVID-19, it is necessary to preserve essential resources for use by health care professionals and others responding to this emergency, including personal protective equipment, that may be used by physicians, dentists, and other health care provider practices,” the order read.
The order listed examples of those procedures to include endoscopies, cataract and lens surgeries, nonurgent orthopedic procedures or cosmetic procedures.
Surgeries that may be allowed include removal of cancerous tumors, transplants, limb-threatening surgeries, trauma procedures and dental care related to pain relief or infection management.