“That was my baby.”Many other doctors are also calling it quits. Thousands of medical practices have closed during the pandemic, according to a July survey of 3,500 doctors by the Physicians Foundation, a nonprofit group. The Paycheck Protection Program — authorized by Congress to help businesses, including medical practices, with the economic fallout of the pandemic — helped many doctors remain afloat. “The big hospitals and health care systems have pretty well-established systems of PPE,” she said, but smaller outfits might not have a reliable source. She is concerned that some doctors will develop PTSD from the chronic stress of caring for patients during the pandemic.
