BACKGROUND: As a harm reduction-focused primary care clinic for people who use drugs, the Respectful and Equitable Access to Comprehensive Healthcare (REACH) Program faced multiple barriers due to the COVID-19 pandemic. We describe and evaluate how the telemedicine-driven adaptations REACH made allowed the program to engage its patients.
METHODS: REACH expanded its telemedicine capabilities by transitioning its in-person clinic and methods of connecting with referrals to telemedicine. The program provided patients with phones to increase access to needed technology.
RESULTS: Throughout 2020, patient visits continuously shifted from being entirely in-person, to entirely telemedicine, to a hybrid model. Clinic show rates averaged 71% with this hybrid model, compared with 57% pre-COVID-19. Phones were distributed to 88 patients, 77% of which engaged in at least one telemedicine visit.
CONCLUSIONS: Telemedicine allowed REACH to provide uninterrupted care during the pandemic. The program is now refining its hybrid model of telemedicine and in-person care to more equitably serve all patients.
Transitioning clinical care for people who use drugs to telemedicine: Lessons learned one year into the COVID-19 pandemic
Telemedicine and e-Health, 27 (8), 929-933. doi: 10.1089/tmj.2021.0130.