COVID-19 Home Monitoring: An Institutional Approach to Bridging Care During a Pandemic

Area of Science:

• Medical Education
• Public Health
• Telehealth

Background:

• The COVID-19 pandemic exacerbated existing patient care gaps and disrupted medical student clinical training.
• Primary Care Medicine Clinics (PCMCs) often serve vulnerable populations, making care continuity critical.

Purpose of the Study:

• To design and implement an outpatient telehealth program for monitoring home-isolated patients diagnosed with or suspected of having COVID-19.
• To assess the feasibility of a Home Monitoring Program (HMP) and collect mortality data.
• To provide clinical training opportunities for medical students during the pandemic.

Main Methods:

• An outpatient telehealth HMP was developed and integrated with a primary care clinic.
• Medical student volunteers were recruited to support the program.
• Patients recently diagnosed with COVID-19 and not hospitalized were enrolled for home monitoring via phone calls.

Main Results:

• Over 800 monitoring calls were made to 296 patients during an 8-month period.
• 30 medical students participated in the program.
• Four patient deaths were recorded during the study period.

Conclusions:

• The institution successfully implemented a COVID-19 HMP within its primary care setting.
• The program ensured continued patient care access during the pandemic.
• The HMP provided a feasible model for remote patient monitoring and medical education.