Every day we peruse Brit Hume’s timeline in hopes of sharing some good news, some hopeful news, some news that is not all about ‘bleeding and leading,’ and so far he has not let us down. Today, Hume shared this story about how doctors are writing the playbook for treating COVID on the fly …

Interesting and hopeful —>Doctors are writing the playbook for treating coronavirus on the fly, tapping into a global network of medical professionals sharing information on blogs, podcasts and social media https://t.co/zYUqFMCghI

From WSJ.com:

The post helped galvanize an emerging theory about the treatment of Covid-19 patients, which in recent weeks has taken hold in U.S. hospitals. In New York City, where ventilators are in perilously short supply, doctors say they have since embraced CPAP and other treatments to improve breathing in Covid-19 patients.

The shift is one example of how health-care workers are writing the playbook for treating coronavirus patients on the fly, knowing they can’t wait for peer-reviewed articles or studies in established medical journals. Instead they are tapping into social media, podcasts, inside-baseball medical blogs and text-message groups to share improvised solutions to supply shortages and patient care, forcing hospitals to quickly re-evaluate their practices.

“This has been a rapidly evolving process,” said Dr. Farkas, who has treated Covid-19 patients in the intensive-care unit at the University of Vermont in Burlington. “As we struggle with how to treat a disease that so recently was totally unknown, this rapid exchange and updating of information is crucial.”