Lessons Learned During COVID-19 Pandemic - A Case Study in a Las Vegas Health Clinic

Lessons Learned During COVID-19 Pandemic - A Case Study in a Las Vegas Health Clinic C J Howell-Canada,MD,FAAP, L A Canada, MD Abstract Background In the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, health care facilitypreparedness is on the forefront of hospital administrators decision making Telehealth rapidly became themost important function of healthcare facilities to effectively manage and serve patients via telemedicine andface-to-face video chat appointments Maintaining the ability to continue to provide modified well child checksthrough telemedicine is important for pediatric providers to ensure the continuity of care at all age levels Telehealth gives the opportunity to address acute care concerns for the pediatric population Methods In thispaper, we analyze the foundation necessary to implement and support telemedicine/telehealth servicesduring a pandemic in a union sponsored medium-sized health care center in Las Vegas, NV This paperanalyzes and outlines the healthcare process of determining ways to ensure episode preparedness andeffective communication from the organizational level Data was collected through retrospective observation and detailed accounts from organizational information distribution and provider input Results The lessonslearned are that health care providers need an informed decision making process;communication flow fromhealth care administration is a priority, needing to be disseminated without barriers;all possibilities need tobe exhausted to avoid disruption of day-to-day medical services;medical policies and procedures need to beestablished to encompass all aspects of medical services provided (in-person, via telephone, telemedicine);and operational decisions should reflect effective communication along with preparedness with transparency Keywords: telehealth, telemedicine, organizational preparedness, healthcare process