The federal Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality plans to commit $9 million for multidisciplinary Long COVID clinics. The goal is to expand access to comprehensive, coordinated, and person-centered care for people with Long COVID, particularly underserved, rural, vulnerable, or minority populations.
AHRQ notes that dedicated outpatient Long COVID clinics have emerged to provide coordinated, multidisciplinary care that meets the complex, diverse, multi-system, and specialized needs of people with Long COVID. Several Long COVID clinic models exist, with common elements including care coordination and access to multidisciplinary care.
AHRQ adds that while filling a critical need, Long COVID clinics face significant challenges such as staffing shortages, long patient waitlists, lack of funding or reimbursement for some services, lack of clear treatment protocols, limited capacity to provide timely, comprehensive, coordinated and person-centered care, and limited clinician knowledge and training in Long COVID management. Further, people with Long COVID experience access barriers and delayed care due to the limited number or capacity of Long COVID clinics and specialists, concentration of clinics in academic centers and urban areas, late recognition of Long COVID symptoms by clinicians, and delayed referral to Long COVID clinics or appropriate specialists for care.
AHRQ will fund up to nine multidisciplinary Long COVID clinics to:
• Develop and implement new or improved care delivery models
• Provide services to more people with Long COVID
• Expand services offered
• Strengthen care coordination
• Implement and share best practices for Long COVID management
• Support the primary care community in Long COVID education and management
• Evaluate project success, and
• Disseminate project findings.
This AHRQ funding opportunity will only support expansion of existing clinics (including establishment of new satellite clinics), and not the development of new, independent Long COVID clinics. AHRQ funding is intended to supplement, not displace, current sources of funding (e.g., insurance reimbursement) for care and services provided.
Proposed new or improved models must deliver comprehensive, coordinated, person-centered, and timely care to people with Long COVID, collaborating with primary care and specialty clinicians and social service providers to optimally integrate Long COVID care with any services for co-existing illnesses and social risk factors.
Applicants can propose models focused on specific populations, such as pediatrics, older adults, or underserved, rural, vulnerable or minority populations. Applicants must use funds for primary care practitioner education, support, and engagement to expand primary care capacity for Long COVID care.
