2. Optimising teams’ capacity and creating efficiencies
- Date: 2023-10-25
- Concurrent Session: Concurrent Session A
- Time: 10:30 - 11:15 am
- Room:
- Style: Presentation (information provided to audience, with opportunity for audience to ask question)
- Focus: Balance between both (e.g. Presentation of a best-practice guideline that combines research evidence, policy issues and practical steps for implementation)
- Target Audience: Clinical providers
Learning Objectives:
This presentation will demonstrate how an interprofessional primary care team can effectively support management of Post Covid Syndrome (Long Covid) without additional funding. It will outline the definition of Post Covid Syndrome, review clinical symptom presentation and discuss clinical practice tools. It will highlight a care model developed by the Owen Sound Family Health Team, following data that shows the most effective care model is through interdisciplinary teams. This session will explore how to develop, operate, evaluate and refine an interdisciplinary model for Post Covid Care within the existing primary care setting.
Summary/Abstract:
The Owen Sound Family Health Team developed and currently operates a Post Covid Clinic. This presentation will share how a similar approach can be adopted at other clinics utilizing current funding and using available interdisciplinary staff. Ontario does not have a coordinated strategic plan to provide care to patients with Long Covid. This care is currently provided by few specialty clinics with long wait times, and is often geographically inaccessible to patients. Evidence supports early access to interdisciplinary team-based care for improved patient outcomes. Clinical practice tools and diagnostic and management strategies exist, but they are scattered throughout literature and lack a coordinated implementation approach. In April 2022 after identifying gaps in clinical knowledge and geographic barriers, the Owen Sound Family Health Team developed a Nurse Practitioner led Post Covid Clinic based on these practice tools, available literature and patient feedback. This approach integrates supported self management with medical evaluation and management of conditions new or worsening since Covid-19 infection. Patients receive quarterly comprehensive evaluation with relevant interdisciplinary providers and are provided with supportive written materials and goals. With positive feedback from both patients and physicians, this presentation will review the initial framework and development of this program and how it has been adapted over time. It will also explore other opportunities to provide ongoing support to patients.
Presenter:
- Michelle Lanteigne Nurse Practitioner Owen Sound Family Health Team