Dataset Information

Primary Care Population Management for COVID-19 Patients.

ABSTRACT:

Background

Most patients infected with SARS-CoV-2 have mild to moderate symptoms manageable at home; however, up to 20% develop severe illness requiring additional support. Primary care practices performing population management can use these tools to remotely assess and manage COVID-19 patients and identify those needing additional medical support before becoming critically ill.

Aim

We developed an innovative population management approach for managing COVID-19 patients remotely.

Setting

Development, implementation, and evaluation took place in April 2020 within a large urban academic medical center primary care practice.

Participants

Our panel consists of 40,000 patients. By April 27, 2020, 305 had tested positive for SARS-CoV-2 by RT-qPCR. Outreach was performed by teams of doctors, nurse practitioners, physician assistants, and nurses.

Program description

Our innovation includes an algorithm, an EMR component, and a twice daily population report for managing COVID-19 patients remotely.

Program evaluation

Of the 305 patients with COVID-19 in our practice at time of submission, 196 had returned to baseline; 54 were admitted to hospitals, six of these died, and 40 were discharged.

Discussion

Our population management strategy helped us optimize at-home care for our COVID-19 patients and enabled us to identify those who require inpatient medical care in a timely fashion.

SUBMITTER: Blazey-Martin D

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7384553 | biostudies-literature | 2020 Oct

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Publications

Primary Care Population Management for COVID-19 Patients.

Blazey-Martin Deborah D Barnhart Elizabeth E Gillis Joseph J Vazquez Gabriela Andujar GA

Journal of general internal medicine 20200727 10

<h4>Background</h4>Most patients infected with SARS-CoV-2 have mild to moderate symptoms manageable at home; however, up to 20% develop severe illness requiring additional support. Primary care practices performing population management can use these tools to remotely assess and manage COVID-19 patients and identify those needing additional medical support before becoming critically ill.<h4>Aim</h4>We developed an innovative population management approach for managing COVID-19 patients remotely. ...[more]

PMID: 32720239

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Project description:The COVID-19 pandemic has brought a renewed focus on appropriate management of chronic respiratory conditions with a heightened awareness of respiratory symptoms and the requirement for differential diagnosis between an asthma attack and COVID-19 infection. Despite early concerns in the pandemic, most studies suggest that well-managed asthma is not a risk factor for more severe COVID-related outcomes, and that asthma may even have a protective effect. Advice on the treatment of asthma and asthma attacks has remained unchanged. This article describes some challenges faced in primary care asthma management in adults and in teenagers, particularly their relevance during a pandemic, and provides practical advice on asthma attack recognition, classification, treatment and continuity of care. Acute attacks, characterised by increased symptoms and reduced lung function, are often referred to as exacerbations of asthma by doctors and nurses but are usually described by patients as asthma attacks. They carry a significant and underestimated morbidity and mortality burden. Many patients experiencing an asthma attack are assessed in primary care for treatment and continuing management. This may require remote assessment by telephone and home monitoring devices, where available, during a pandemic. Differentiation between an asthma attack and a COVID-19 infection requires a structured clinical assessment, taking account of previous medical and family history. Early separation into mild, moderate, severe or life-threatening attacks is helpful for continuing good management. Most attacks can be managed in primary care but when severe or unresponsive to initial treatment, the patient should be appropriately managed until transfer to an acute care facility can be arranged. Good quality care is important to prevent further attacks and must include a follow-up appointment in primary care, proactive regular dosing with daily controller therapy and an understanding of a patient's beliefs and perceptions about asthma to maximise future self-management.

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Dataset Information

Primary Care Population Management for COVID-19 Patients.

Background

Aim

Setting

Participants

Program description

Program evaluation

Discussion

Publications

Primary Care Population Management for COVID-19 Patients.

Similar Datasets

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