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- Title
A Model for Rapid Transition to Virtual Care, VA Connecticut Primary Care Response to COVID-19.
- Authors
Spelman, Juliette F.; Brienza, Rebecca; Walsh, Robert F.; Drost, Paul; Schwartz, Amy R.; Kravetz, Jeffrey D.; Pitkin, Patricia; Ruser, Christopher
- Abstract
Introduction: Traditionally, health care delivery in the USA has been structured around in-person visits. The COVID-19 pandemic has forced a shift to virtual care models in order to reduce patient exposure to high-risk environments and to preserve valuable health care resources. This report describes one large primary care system's model for rapid transition to virtual care (RTVC). Setting and Participants: A RTVC model was implemented at the VA Connecticut Health Care System (VACHS), which delivers care to over 58,000 veterans. Program Description: The RTVC model included immediate virtual care conversion, telework expansion, implementation of virtual respiratory urgent care clinics, and development of standardized note templates. Program Evaluation: Outcomes include the rates of primary encounter types, staff teleworking, and utilization of virtual respiratory urgent care clinics. In under 2 weeks, most encounters were transitioned from in-person to virtual care, enabling telework for over half of the medical staff. The majority of virtual visits were telephone encounters, though rates of video visits increased nearly 18-fold. Discussion: The RTVC model demonstrates expeditious and sustained transition to virtual care during the COVID-19 pandemic. Our experiences help inform institutions still reliant on traditional in-person visits, and future pandemic response.
- Subjects
CONNECTICUT; MEDICAL personnel; COVID-19; COVID-19 pandemic; PRIMARY care; MEDICAL care; PATIENT-centered medical homes
- Publication
JGIM: Journal of General Internal Medicine, 2020, Vol 35, Issue 10, p3073
- ISSN
0884-8734
- Publication type
Article
- DOI
10.1007/s11606-020-06041-4