How Covid-19 Should Change Your Chronic Disease Outreach

In anticipation of a Covid-19 surge, many health systems have had to rethink care delivery, including canceling or shifting non-urgent appointments and restricting access to entry points. While these are necessary steps to expand capacity, they disrupt or delay care for non-Covid-19 patients with chronic conditions—many of whom are also at a higher clinical risk of Covid-19.

The challenge is: because complex patients aren't able to readily access care, many health systems are in the dark about their needs and how to best manage their care. And in addition to clinical risk factors, comorbid patients may have social needs that are being amplified by the epidemic.

In response, health systems should proactively scale up outreach—and recognize that many "rising risk" patients may now need a more intensive level of support. Below, our suggestions for scaling chronic disease care during Covid-19.