Broadening the scale and impact of a comprehensive Long COVID clinic to serve diverse patient groups with multidisciplinary care and research access

ABSTRACT Please find attached our application entitled “Broadening the scale and impact of a comprehensive Long COVID clinic to serve diverse patient groups with multidisciplinary care and research access” being submitted to RFA-HS-23-012: Implementing and Evaluating New Models for Delivering Comprehensive, Coordinated, Person-Centered Care to People with Long COVID (U18). This application is responsive to SEN NOT-HS-23-013. While several models of dedicated outpatient Long COVID clinics have emerged across the U.S., features essential to implementing and providing equitable, comprehensive, coordinated, and person-centered Long COVID care have yet to be fully identified and evaluated. In April 2020, our team founded the multidisciplinary UCSF OPTIMAL Long COVID clinic, a dedicated center for individuals in the post- acute phase of COVID-19 modeled after the multidisciplinary structure of post- ICU clinics. The clinic currently serves a diverse population and the clinic has already had a major impact, resulting in lower odds of hospitalization or emergency department visits. The central goal of this proposal is to improve capacity, access, and equity for underserved, vulnerable, and minority populations being served by the OPTIMAL Long COVID Clinic. Specifically, we will scale up multidisciplinary care operations in the current UCSF OPTIMAL Clinic and expand the program to patients at San Francisco General Hospital, a safety net hospital serving a diverse and vulnerable patient population experiencing long COVID. We will increase coordination and communication between our clinical operations, established federally-funded Long COVID research programs, and community- based organizations (CBOs) and clinics serving populations affected by Long COVID. Using an implementation science approach and leveraging the existing OPTIMAL Long COVID care model and established relationships with community organizations and research studies, we will: Aim 1: Scale up Long COVID care in the San Francisco Bay Area to increase access for underserved, vulnerable, and minority populations. Aim 2: Enhance Long COVID care coordination and communication across clinical, research, and community settings. Aim 3: Identify key barriers and facilitators to implementation success and sustainability of the expanded and enhanced Long COVID care model. Results from this project will significantly inform Long COVID care delivery models and have a major impact on unmet Long COVID care needs among underserved populations.