Emergency Executive Order Halts Elective Surgeries in NYC

In response to the COVID-19 public health emergency, on March 16 New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio signed an Emergency Executive Order ordering the closing of restaurants, bars, gyms, and entertainment venues, and suspending numerous regulations and laws that require public meetings and hearings within the City. The Order also includes a direction to all hospitals and ambulatory surgery centers in New York City to cease performing elective procedures by March 20, so that facilities’ resources may be redirected toward COVID-19 response.

The Order defines “elective” procedures as those that can be postponed or canceled based on a hospital or ASC’s assessment of patient risk. In addition to the Order’s direct applicability to physicians and patients, it will clearly have an impact on intraoperative monitoring companies, surgical equipment vendors, and other providers of products and services ancillary to surgeries.