JMIR Publications

ABSTRACT

Background:

In response to the COVID-19 pandemic many healthcare organizations have adopted telehealth. The current literature on transition to telehealth has mostly been from large healthcare organizations or specialty care, with limited data from safety net or community clinics.

Objective:

This is a case report of rapid implementation of a telehealth hub in an academic nurse-managed community clinic in response to the national emergency. We also identify factors of success and challenges associated with the transition.

Methods:

The study was conducted at the George Mason University (GMU) Mason and Partners (MAP) clinics that serve the dual mission of community clinics and health professional education. We interviewed the leadership team of MAP clinics and summarized the findings.

Results:

The MAP clinics reacted quickly to the COVID-19 crisis and transitioned to telehealth within two weeks of the state-wide lockdown. The protocol includes a coordination hub, a main patient triage and appointment telephone line, a step-by-step flowchart of clinical procedure, and team structure with clearly defined work roles and backups. The clinics are able to maintain most of its clinical service and health education functions while adapting to new clinic duties arise during the pandemic.

Conclusions:

The experiences learned from the MAP clinics are transferable for other safety net clinics and academic nurse-led community clinics. The changes arising from the pandemic have resulted in sustainable procedures and will have a long-term impact on healthcare delivery and training.