COVIDCare@Home: Lessons from a Family Medicine Led Remote Monitoring Program

BackgroundVirtual care for patients with COVID-19 allows providers to monitor COVID-19 positive patients with variable trajectories while reducing the risk of transmission to others and managing healthcare capacity in acute care facilities. ObjectiveTo develop and test the feasibility of a family medicine-led remote monitoring model of care (COVIDCare@Home program) to manage patients with COVID-19 in the community. MethodsThis multi-faceted, family medicine-led, interprofessional team-based remote monitoring program was developed at Womens College Hospital in Toronto, Ontario. A cross-sectional chart review of the first cohort of patients was conducted and learnings from the implementation of CovidCare@Home are described. ResultsDuring the study period, April 8 to May 11, 2020, there were 97 patients (average age 48.6, 62% female) with 424 recorded virtual visits with a median virtual length of stay of 8 days (IQR 5). 5.2% required escalation to an in-person visit with no patients requiring hospitalization. 16% of patients required support with mental and social health needs. InterpretationsA family medicine-led, team-based remote monitoring program can safely be used to manage outpatients diagnosed with COVID-19. Attention to mental and social health needs is critical for this population. Future efforts should consider how to design programs to best support populations disproportionately impacted by COVID-19, something which primary care is well-positioned to do. Further analysis will describe the effectiveness, impact, and satisfaction with the program among patients and providers.