Coordination of Care for long COVID-19 Patients: A Scoping Review

Abstract

Background Patients experiencing long COVID-19 exhibit a variety of symptoms that persist or recur following infection with severe acute respiratory coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2). While the coordination of care for patients with COVID-19 has undergone extensive analysis, the coordination of care for those with the long version of the virus has been described but not yet systematically reviewed. To address this gap, this article aims to analyze the various ways healthcare establishments and professionals coordinate the management of patients with long COVID-19.Method From March 2023, we conducted a scoping review on the coordination of care for patients with long COVID-19 using two databases, Google Scholar and PubMed. A comprehensive search was performed using specific keywords to ensure inclusivity. Relevant literature was selected based on predefined inclusion and exclusion criteria using the PICO framework.Results After deduplication, a total of 352 documents were identified, and their abstracts were examined. Subsequently, 89 references were chosen for a more detailed study. Following a thorough examination of the full text, 35 references that met the predefined inclusion criteria were retained.Conclusions The results of this scoping review identify several recommendations for the development of care coordination for patients with long COVID-19. The findings highlight numerous factors that facilitate this coordination, including multidisciplinary teams, the establishment of specialized facilities and services, identification of key players, coordination focused on patients and symptoms, rehabilitation-oriented coordination, pursuit of continuity of care, progressive identification of care pathways, and integration of e-health into the care process. These factors relate to three key areas of healthcare for these patients: care organization, types of coordination, and the operational methods of these coordinations.