Coronavirus, SARS-CoV-2 or COVID-19: Innovative Approaches to Primary Care

As the COVID-19 pandemic has entered its third week, our healthcare providers are realizing the dramatic impact this has on how we deliver care. Our lives have been touched not only professionally, but personally as well. The uncertainty that this pandemic has driven into our lives is equally matched by the resiliency and ingenuity of our healthcare providers and larger community to come together and face this head-on.

We have previously covered the clinical presentation of the coronavirus in pediatrics and what providers should do if their clinical suspension is high. You can go back and listen to those discussions on Season 3, episode 31, episode 36 and episode 38.

Listen to pediatric experts discuss the coronavirus and primary care delivery approaches

In this episode, we will cover the current epidemiology of COVID-19 and answer listener-submitted questions. We will also talk about the creative delivery of primary care that providers could consider implementing in their practice as they navigate the coronavirus pandemic.

We are fortunate to have Sam Dominguez, MD, a pediatric infectious disease physician at Children’s Hospital Colorado and Associate Professor of Pediatrics and Infectious Diseases at the University of Colorado School of Medicine, join us again on the podcast. We also have Maya Bunik, MD, Medical Director of the Child Health Clinic and Professor of Pediatrics at the University of Colorado School of Medicine and Kelly Galloway, Director of Patient Care Services and an ambulatory nurse and leader in the Child Health Clinic joining us on this podcast.

In this episode, our experts discuss:

• The number of cases in the U.S. and worldwide
• Mitigation strategies to slow and stop the spread of the virus
• Impact of social distancing on the spread of the virus
• Innovative approaches to primary care operations during the pandemic
• Approach to primary care appointments for infants under the age of 2 months who need immunizations and evaluation of issues that could lead to poor outcomes if not addressed early
• Limiting exposure to healthcare workers and patients by using different evaluation methods such as drive-up car screening for patients with respiratory symptoms and fever
• Use of a telephone triage program to limit in-office visits for patients who do not need to be seen in person
• Ideal and minimum use of protective equipment to limit healthcare workers’ exposure to coronavirus
• Innovative approaches to primary care that have been effective and could be continued after the coronavirus pandemic passes
• Current recommendations for coronavirus testing given the limited supply
• Status of serologic testing currently under development

Treatment of infectious diseases at Children’s Colorado

Our pediatric experts in the Infectious Disease program at Children's Colorado provide a breadth of expertise ranging from laboratory-based research to the treatment and prevention of infectious diseases. Pediatricians can treat many infectious diseases, but when unique or different symptoms are present, it’s important to refer to a pediatric specialist. We are prepared and ready to treat patients with suspected or confirmed 2019 novel coronavirus. Our clinical staff has been specially trained on how to identify, isolate and treat patients with this and other contagious illnesses.