Creating Avenues to Specialty Care—Could COVID-19 Force Change in the Way We Access Specialty Care?

Discussion Tips

COVID-19 has created much change within our health care system. Primary care clinicians were tasked with taking care of patients infected with SARS-CoV-2, about which they knew very little. The resources of health care systems across the world were stretched to the brink of collapse. The authors in this study attempt to evaluate the efficacy of an electronic consult service as a means to help primary care clinicians give the best, up-to-date care to patients with COVID-19 by providing access to specialists on the front lines.

Discussion Questions

• What question is asked by this study and why does it matter?

• What is a mixed methods study? How does a mixed methods study differ from a qualitative study?

  • ∘ What is inductive and deductive content analysis?

  • ∘ What are emergent themes?

  • ∘ What is saturation?

• Is a mixed methods study appropriate to answer this research question? What are alternative methods to understand the research question?

  • ∘ What would the strengths and weaknesses of alternative designs be?

• What are the main study findings?

  • ∘ Why is timing of the study important? How did the authors deal with time in the study?

• How does this study advance beyond previous research and clinical practice on this topic?

• What contextual factors are important for interpreting the findings? How generalizable do you think the study is?

• What specific barriers to care can this study help to eliminate in future clinical practice outside of a pandemic?

• How might this study impact how we approach health care disparities?

• How might this study change your practice? Policy? Education? Research?

• What researchable questions remain?