Navigating Through the Financial Crisis that may Occur during and after the COVID-19 Pandemic for Gastroenterologists

Introduction Considering the specific set of gastrointestinal endoscopy practitioners, it is witnessed that the number of patients forelective procedures are being deferred by the patients amid various concerns ranging from financial constraint to the fear of infection from the dreaded coronavirus. With Routine endoscopy procedures recommended to be safely postponed, the impact on the practice of Gastrointestinal Endoscopists shall be magnified. Assessment and Strategy The article discusses impact and remedial actions that may be taken by Gastrointestinal Endoscopists, which classified into: - Anindependent practitioner - A consultant - An employee The article further touches upon the difficulties that might be envisaged by the Gastrointestinal Endoscopists, and obtain a financial understanding of what could potentially lead to an existential crisis? Those with cash reserves sit in a pleasant position i.e. they can buy assets at an attractive price, experiment with new ideas, research and development, etc. It is imperative in these times to understand the uncertainty cast on operations of Gastrointestinal Endoscopists and prepare a response plan for coming out of this economic crisis. A roadmap also has been devised which provides a possible outline of a plan that can be implemented for handling the economic crisis. It is also important to answer these two questions: 1. Who do I want to be during the crisis? 2. Who do I want to be when this is over?