Mdedge Psychcast

Lorenzo Norris, MD, spoke with Sheldon H. Preskorn, MD, about how to best educate patients about coronavirus. Dr. Preskorn is a professor in the department of psychiatry at the University of Kansas School of Medicine–Wichita. Neither Dr. Norris nor Dr. Preskorn have any relevant financial relationships to disclose. Take-home points Coronavirus 2019 (COVID-19) is the disease process caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2).  SARS-CoV-2 is different from the previous SARS-type coronaviruses and is having a greater impact on society as a pandemic for three reasons: It’s highly transmissible person to person, it can be spread by infected individuals who are asymptomatic or presymptomatic, and it has a high level of morbidity but a lower level of mortality. Psychiatrists work with vulnerable populations, including older adults and individuals with medical comorbidities that put them at risk for COVID-19. Psychiatrists must understand the pertinent facts about COVID-19 to help their