Rapid Deployment of Chiropractic Telehealth at 2 Worksite Health Centers in Response to the COVID-19 Pandemic: Observations from the Field.

OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this paper is to describe the rapid deployment of telehealth, particularly real time video conference, for chiropractic services as a response to COVID-19. METHODS: Two health centers at 2 campuses of a large California corporation have chiropractic care integrated into physical medicine services. Care was suspended beginning on March 17, 2020 to prevent spread of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) among patients and staff. On March 19, the Governor of California issued a stay at home order. With musculoskeletal problems being common in the employee patient population, telehealth services were quickly developed to continue chiropractic care for patients. Using existing infrastructure, several members of the health center team developed chiropractic telehealth operations within 2 days. RESULTS: Musculoskeletal telehealth services included examinations, risk assessment, advice, and rehabilitative exercises. These telehealth visits facilitated care that would have otherwise been unavailable to employees. Patients reported that the appointments were helpful, addressed their concerns, and provided a safe method to see their doctor. Regular interprofessional teamwork and relations between the clinic operator and client company were key contributors to operationalizing this service in our integrated healthcare environment. CONCLUSION: We were able to quickly implement real time video conferencing and other forms of telehealth for chiropractic services at 2 worksite health centers. This paper includes information and insights to providers about setting up similar telehealth systems so they may also provide this benefit for patients in their communities during pandemics or disasters.

Transforming Interprofessional Roles During Virtual Health Care: The Evolving Role of the Medical Assistant, in Relationship to National Health Profession Competency Standards.

INTRODUCTION: Medical assistants (MAs) were once limited to obtaining vital signs and office work. Now, MAs are foundational to team-based care, interacting with patients, systems, and teams in many ways. The transition to Virtual Health during the COVID-19 pandemic resulted in a further rapid and unique shift of MA roles and responsibilities. We sought to understand the impact of this shift and to place their new roles in the context of national professional competency standards. METHODS: In this qualitative, grounded theory study we conducted semi-structured interviews with 24 MAs at 10 primary care sites at a major academic medical center on their experiences during the shift from in-person to virtual care. MAs were selected by convenience sample. Coding was done in Dedoose version 8.335. Consensus-based inductive and deductive approaches were used for interview analysis. Identified MA roles were compared to national MA, Institute of Medicine, physician, and nursing professional competency domains. RESULTS: Three main themes emerged: Role Apprehension, Role Expansion, and Adaptability/Professionalism. Nine key roles emerged in the context of virtual visits: direct patient care (pre-visit and physical care), panel management, health systems ambassador, care coordination, patient flow coordination, scribing, quality improvement, and technology support. While some prior MA roles were limited by the virtual care shift, the majority translated directly or expanded in virtual care. Identified roles aligned better with Institute of Medicine, physician, and nursing professional competencies, than current national MA curricula. CONCLUSIONS: The transition to Virtual Health decreased MA's direct clinical work and expanded other roles within interprofessional care, notably quality improvement and technology support. Comparison of the current MA roles with national training program competencies identified new leadership and teamwork competencies which could be expanded during MA training to better support MA roles on inter-professional teams.