Innovations and Practices that Influence Patient-Centered Health Care Delivery Special Series

Abstract

The publication of this special series on Innovations and Practices that Influence Patient-Centered Health Care Delivery was intended to report on research that focused on innovative practices and interventions that influence what matters most in health care: the patient. It was proposed to the Editor in March 2020, only a few weeks before many jurisdictions in the U.S. went under pandemic control measures in response to the emergence of the novel coronavirus 2019 (COVID-19) including curfews, stay-at-home orders, and other widespread restrictions. For most, the pandemic has been extremely difficult with isolation and loss impacting individuals and groups across communities and countries. Amidst this chaos, grave racial and social injustices surfaced and served to heighten awareness about inequities that permeate health care systems and delivery. The 15 papers in this special series all focus on practices in patient-centered care, with some directly addressing issues related to the pandemic and racial and social inequities. In this editorial, we highlight four papers that reflect the breadth of practices that influence patient-centered health care delivery, and also focus on the important issues of responses to the pandemic and health equity considerations. Lai and colleagues highlight the challenges associated with the deployment of primary care physicians (PCPs) to inpatient settings during the pandemic. They provide recommendations for developing a clinician-friendly and sustainable transitional workflow to overcome existing problems such as PCPs lack of up-to-date training to deliver inpatient care, workflow and technology challenges, and fatigue due to the need to work extended hours. Reportedly, nearly 31% of PCPs noted experiencing burnout, and those serving in organizations that provide pandemic-related care had a higher risk of burnout. The authors propose three practices to address these problems. First, hospitals should have a transition plan in place for PCPs to adopt new practices (e.g., functioning in a team) to effectively deliver care in a dynamically changing environment. Second, a comprehensive orientation plan should be implemented for PCPs that includes