Practice Adjustments Made by Family Physicians During the COVID-19 Pandemic

Area of Science:

• Family Medicine
• Public Health
• Healthcare Management

Background:

• COVID-19 pandemic caused significant healthcare disruptions.
• Family physicians needed to adapt practices for patient and staff safety.
• The American Board of Family Medicine (ABFM) initiated a COVID Performance Improvement (PI) activity.

Purpose of the Study:

• To understand interventions implemented by family physicians during the early COVID-19 pandemic.
• To identify lessons learned from these practice adaptations.

Main Methods:

• Analysis of 1259 COVID-PI activity submissions from April 1 to June 30, 2020.
• Qualitative content analysis of open-text responses on lessons learned.

Main Results:

• Common interventions included virtual visits, new workflows, screening protocols, and PPE acquisition.
• Key lessons learned involved patient/staff safety, modified processes, virtual visit perceptions, access to care, and patient satisfaction.
• Most physicians reported early success with their implemented changes.

Conclusions:

• The ABFM PI activity facilitated reporting on practice changes during the pandemic.
• Physician reflections offer valuable insights for future pandemic-related healthcare adjustments.