RT Journal Article
SR Electronic
T1 Launching a Statewide COVID-19 Primary Care Hotline and Telemedicine Service
JF The Journal of the American Board of Family
                Medicine
JO J Am Board Fam Med
FD American Board of Family Medicine
SP S170
OP S178
DO 10.3122/jabfm.2021.S1.200178
VO 34
IS Supplement
A1 Anthony Cheng
A1 Heather Angier
A1 Nathalie Huguet
A1 Deborah J. Cohen
A1 Kellen Strickland
A1 Emily Barclay
A1 Eric Herman
A1 Craig McDougall
A1 Frances E. Biagioli
A1 Kam Pierce
A1 Carliana Straub
A1 Bennett Straub
A1 Jennifer DeVoe
YR 2021
UL http://www.jabfm.org/content/34/Supplement/S170.abstract
AB To respond to the COVID-19 pandemic and recover from its aftermath, primary care teams will face waves of overwhelming demand for information and the need to significantly transform care delivery.Innovation: Oregon Health & Science University’s primary care team envisioned and implemented the COVID-19 Connected Care Center, a statewide telephone “hotline” service.Results: The hotline has taken more than 5825 calls from patients in 33 of Oregon’s 36 counties in less than 3 months. In preliminary survey data, 86% of patients said their questions were answered during the call, 90% would recommend this service, and 70% reported a reduction in stress levels about coronavirus. In qualitative interviews, patients reported their questions answered, short wait times, nurses spent time as needed, and appropriate follow-up was arranged.Conclusion: Academic health centers may have the capacity to leverage their extensive resources to rapidly launch a multiphased pandemic response that meets peoples’ need for information and access to primary care, while minimizing risk of infection and emergency department use and rapidly supporting primary care teams to make the necessary operational changes to do the same in their communities. Such efforts require external funding in a fee-for-service payment model.