Coping with Coronavirus disease 2019: current state review and SWOT analysis to improve the urological services in Southeast Asia.

Introduction: We investigated the impact of Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic on urological services by analyzing current attitudes and practices of urologists in the Southeast Asian (SEA) countries and create ways for improvement.

Materials And Methods: Quantitative data were used as critical indicators of workload of urological services from each country in SEA. Qualitative data analysis was done to describe the current state of attitudes of urologists against COVID-19 in the region. A strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats (SWOT) analysis was performed to formulate strategic action plans.

Results: A total of seven urologists from six SEA countries completed the survey. Approximately 21-40% reduction in elective surgeries and outpatient visits, as stated by 42.9% and 57.1% of respondents, respectively was noted. Collectively, most respondents (71.4%) experienced <20% reduction in emergency visits. Various strategies were utilized as reaction to the pandemic. These include utilization of virtual communication platforms, pre-surgical COVID-19 screening, and limited number of accepted outpatient appointments and surgeries. Face to face patient consultations were still considered needed by many urologists although most countries had prohibited direct patient contact. The national response of countries such as Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand, and Vietnam were successful in controlling the pandemic. However, Indonesia and Philippines struggled because of the limited testing and tracing capabilities. Through the SWOT analysis, strategies were identified which can help overcome COVID-19 and any other future pandemics: (1) restarting the urological services in a safe and sustainable manner; (2) optimizing financial and infrastructural capacities; and (3) regional collaboration to strengthen the health systems.

Conclusion: COVID-19 negatively impacted many health aspects, especially the delivery of urological services in SEA. Therefore, to ensure sustainability of urological services during the pandemic crisis, health care system should focus on safe, resilient, and adaptive approach with regional collaboration.