A COVID-19 call center for healthcare providers: dealing with rapidly evolving health policy guidelines.

ABSTRACT:

Background

Communication between health authorities and healthcare providers is an essential element of the response to public health emergencies. Although call centers can facilitate such communication, no published reports describing their outcomes exist. In advance of the expected COVID-19 outbreak in Israel, the Israel Center for Disease Control established a call center dedicated to queries from healthcare professionals.

Methods

The call center operated from February 5, 2020 (week 6) to May 14, 2020 (week 20). Data on calls received, including date and time, caller characteristics, questions and responses were recorded in a database designed for this purpose. The volume, sources and content of queries were analyzed.

Results

In 15 weeks of operation, the call cent

SUBMITTER: Glatman-Freedman A 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7709808 | biostudies-literature | 2020 Dec

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature