COVID Protocols

The scale and speed of the COVID-19 pandemic represents an unprecedented scenario in the era of modern medicine. Our knowledge, the available data, and current resources are changing constantly. We are making our guidelines and protocols public in order to share the best of our current understanding with everyone who might benefit, and equally to learn from others’ information and experiences. Please share your practice patterns, new data, other guidelines, and new or missing literature. We hope this pandemic brings with it a new era of collaboration and speed in Evidence-Based Medicine. We are a team of over 100 Brigham and Women’s Hospital physicians, respiratory therapists, pharmacists, and nurses from multiple different divisions. Each section has at least one editor, multiple contributors, and several senior advisors. We incorporate new information from clinical experience, user feedback, and newly published literature. A multidisciplinary committee meets twice weekly to discuss and debate the guidelines that pertain to multiple stakeholders. This application and any policies described were prepared on the dates listed under each chapter heading by and for Partners HealthCare medical professionals (a.k.a. clinicians, care givers) and employees and is being made available publicly for informational purposes only, in the context of a public health emergency related to COVID-19 (a.k.a. the coronavirus) and in connection with the state of emergency declared by the Governor of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts and the President of the United States. It is based on pertinent published medical literature, national and state guidelines, and/or expert consensus, which continues to evolve relative to COVID-19. It is neither an attempt to substitute for the practice of medicine nor as a substitute for the provision of any medical professional services. Furthermore, the content is not meant to be complete, exhaustive, or a substitute for medical professional advice, diagnosis, or treatment.