Under the amendment, medical providers have the authority to determine which elective surgeries they will move forward with during the COVID-19 state of emergency.
Mr. Stitt signed a separate executive memorandum featuring an “Elective Surgery Acuity Scale” to help physicians make these decisions.
All minor medical procedures and nonemergency dental procedures are permitted to resume May 1.
“We initially suspended elective surgeries to preserve hospital bed capacity and [personal protective equipment] to handle a potential surge in COVID-19 patients,” Mr. Stitt said. “Since our data indicates we are in a good position regarding hospital capacity — and provided individual institutions can accommodate their internal demand for PPE — it is time to bring some of these procedures back to help our hospitals and the Oklahomans who need them.”
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