Novel Statewide Response to Post-COVID Care Delivery - PROJECT SUMMARY Long COVID is an important public health threat impacting millions of individuals including 600,000 Coloradans. Current Long COVID care is highly fragmented, variable in nature, and in constant evolution. Creating a novel approach to practice support with continued education and streamlining care for high Long COVID will improve care integration and patient experience. We will implement the Colorado Multidisciplinary Translation Network (CO-MTN) comprised of integrated, multidisciplinary Long COVID care clinics and primary care clinics working together in a tiered care delivery pathway. CO-MTN creates a bidirectional translational care network for integrating expertise, education, referrals, and care between MDCs, PCPs and teams, and their patients. CO-MTN includes 1) the State of Colorado-supported Long COVID Community of Practice comprised of three geographically distributed MDCs, 2) a state-wide practice-based research network representing 280 primary care practices, known as the State Networks of Colorado Ambulatory Practices & Partners, and 3) a proven tele-education system used to provide health care practitioners specialty training, Extension for Community Healthcare Outcomes. CO-MTN includes implementation strategies to support the tiered care pathway including training and learning communities to support PCPs with improved knowledge and capacity and provide exceptional care for Colorado Long COVID patients, and practice facilitation to effectively implement the PCP care in their practice and coordinate with the MDCs. CO-MTN will help Long COVID patients in Colorado and have the potential for scaling to other states. To guide implementation and evaluation, we will utilize the Exploration, Preparation, Implementation and Sustainment dissemination and implementation framework. We will measure sustainment as continued involvement in the network during the final six months of the project period. Using qualitative, quantitative, and mixed methods, we will evaluate the Reach and Effectiveness for patients, and the Adoption, Implementation and Maintenance of the implementation strategies using the RE-AIM framework based on the following aims: Aim 1: Implement an integrated, tiered care delivery pathway with facilitated implementation support via CO-MTN and measure its effect on 1) Reach of Long COVID care to Colorado patients, specifically those described as underserved, and 2) Effectiveness on reducing Long COVID symptom burden and severity for patients engaged. Aim 2: Determine the effect of CO-MTN on 1) Adoption of the CO-MTN tiered care delivery model by primary care clinics and PCPs within these clinics, 2) Implementation of the tiered care pathway, and 3) Maintenance of the tiered care pathway key components past the active project period. Our team is comprised of national experts in Long COIVD care, practice-based research, and implementation science. Together, our multidisciplinary team will partner through CO-MTN structures and support to deliver high quality Long COVID care.
