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Newborn Screening Long-Term Follow-Up Clinics (Continuity Clinics) in the Philippines during the COVID-19 Pandemic:
Ebner Bon G Maceda1,2,3, Michelle E Abadingo1,3, Karen Asuncion R Panol1
1Newborn Screening Reference Center, National Institutes of Health, University of the Philippines Manila, Manila 1000, Philippines.
Insights
Newborn Screening Continuity Clinics (NBSCCs) adapted innovative strategies during the COVID-19 pandemic to maintain essential patient care. These efforts successfully sustained and even improved patient contact rates, ensuring continuity of care for newborns.
Area of Science:
- Healthcare Management
- Public Health
- Genetics and Genomics
Background:
- The COVID-19 pandemic significantly disrupted global healthcare systems.
- Newborn Screening Continuity Clinics (NBSCCs) in the Philippines provide essential long-term care for infants identified through newborn screening (NBS).
- Maintaining NBSCC care continuity during the pandemic was crucial yet challenging.
Purpose of the Study:
- To assess the challenges faced by NBSCCs during the COVID-19 pandemic.
- To evaluate the effectiveness of NBSCC disaster contingency plans in maintaining patient care.
- To analyze the impact of the pandemic on NBSCC operations and patient outcomes.
Main Methods:
- A situation assessment survey was administered to NBSCCs post-community quarantine.
- Performance data (2018-2021) were reviewed to evaluate patient contact success rates.
- Thematic analysis was used to identify operational, communication, and safety challenges.
Main Results:
- Successful patient contact rates were maintained and improved during the pandemic (74.9% in 2020, 76.8% in 2021) compared to pre-pandemic levels (70.6% in 2018, 70.2% in 2019).
- Three primary challenges were identified: operations, communications, and safety.
- The number of unresponsive patients decreased during the pandemic, potentially due to reduced mobility and enhanced NBSCC follow-up.
Conclusions:
- NBSCCs successfully adapted through innovative strategies and dedicated personnel to ensure continuity of care during the COVID-19 pandemic.
- Disaster contingency plans were effective in overcoming pandemic-related challenges.
- The study highlights the resilience and adaptability of NBSCCs in safeguarding newborn health outcomes.
Abstract:
The COVID-19 pandemic has challenged healthcare systems worldwide. In the Philippines, long-term care for patients with conditions identified through newborn screening (NBS) is coordinated through Newborn Screening Continuity Clinics (NBSCCs). These clinics are integral to achieving optimal outcomes by providing follow-up oversight and assistance for individuals identified through screening. Continuity of NBSCC care for NBS during the COVID-19 pandemic was both challenging and necessary and was accomplished through innovative strategies of dedicated personnel. Following the discontinuation of the community quarantine, a situation assessment survey was completed by each NBSCC to better understand the challenges encountered and their effect on patient care. Performance data from each NBSCC were reviewed both before and after an extended community quarantine (2018-2021) to evaluate the impact of NBSCC disaster contingency plans in overcoming the resultant challenges (transportation, supply chain, etc.). Thematic analysis of the survey showed three primary challenges: Operations, communications, and safety. In 2018 and 2019, successful patient contacts were 70.6% and 70.2%, respectively. During the pandemic, successful contacts were 74.9% in 2020 and 76.8% in 2021, demonstrating that the contact approaches taken by the NBSCCs were sufficient to maintain (and even improve) patient contacts. The number of unresponsive patients decreased during the pandemic likely due to decreased mobility and improved follow-up actions from the NBSCCs.
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