Care Models for Long COVID: A Rapid Systematic Review

Context: More than 18M people worldwide (150K Canadians) are living with Long COVID resulting in debilitating sequalae and disabilities that impact their quality of life and capacity to return to work. A new care model is needed for persons living with this complex and multi-systemic disease. Objectives: What is the best-available evidence about care models for persons living with Long COVID? Design: Rapid Living Systematic Review. Method: We systematically searched seven electronic databases (MEDLINE, Embase, Web of Science, COVID-END, L-OVE, CDRS and WHO Ovid) on May 27th, 2021. Two independent reviewers screened titles, abstracts and full text. We included studies reporting on 1- persons living with Long COVID and 2- proposing a specific care model (i.e., dedicated clinic, care pathway). We extracted characteristic of studies (e.g., countries, study design, age group), referral pathways targeted (e.g., hospitalized, community), reporting of the care model implementation with number of patients, clinical settings of care model (e.g., primary care), healthcare professions included in the care model, care model principles (e.g., person-centred care) and care model components (e.g., standardized symptoms assessment). We used descriptive statistics and frequency count. Results: We screened 2181 citations, read 65 full text and included 12 eligible articles reporting on care models for Long COVID. Half studies were from the United Kingdom. 7 out of 12 models reported conceptual models without a description of implementation. All but one model was designed for discharge and long-term follow-up of hospitalized patients and half models were designed for non-hospitalized or patients who lived with the disease only in the community. Nine out of 12 care models included primary care, 8 out of 12 included specialized clinics and all studies included rehabilitation services. A total of 30 healthcare professions and medical specialties were proposed for staffing Long COVID services. More than half studies proposed multidisciplinary teams, integrated/coordination of care, evidence-based care and patient-centred care as key care model principles. Standardized symptom assessment, follow-up system and virtual care were the most frequent care model components. Conclusion: The implementation of care models for Long COVID is underway in several countries. Care models need to include both hospitalized and non-hospitalized patients. A complete care model for this population appears to design a care pathway integrating primary care, rehabilitation services and specialized clinics for medical assessment. The entry into care pathways is likely possible through a centralized referral system. It is possible to design sustainable and equitable care pathways for Long COVID in Canada integrated in current infrastructure.