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. 2022 Jan-Dec:13:21501319221130603.
doi: 10.1177/21501319221130603.

A Model to Implement Standardized Virtual Care for Low Back Pain Amongst a Large Network of Providers in Urban and Rural Settings

Marcia Rebecca Correale  1   2 , Leslie Jayne Soever  1   2 , Yoga Raja Rampersaud  1   2   3
Affiliations

A Model to Implement Standardized Virtual Care for Low Back Pain Amongst a Large Network of Providers in Urban and Rural Settings

Marcia Rebecca Correale et al. J Prim Care Community Health. 2022 Jan-Dec.

Abstract

Prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, virtual care (VC) was not routinely offered for assessment of low back pain (LBP), a highly prevalent, disabling condition. COVID-19 related healthcare closures resulted in a rapid backlog of patients referred to a provincial interprofessional LBP program. Without management, these patients were at high risk of experiencing untoward outcomes. Virtual care became a logical option. However, many clinicians lacked experience and confidence with LBP virtual care (LBP-VC); and either were unfamiliar with, or did not have access to, requisite technology. Multi-stakeholder engagement was utilized to understand barriers, identify enablers, and ultimately promote VC for LBP. As a result of the multi-stakeholder engagement, the concept of a toolkit for LBP-VC, including clinical resources and guidelines, emerged. The toolkit contains preparatory steps for VC and a standardized approach to virtual LBP assessment. Key steps in the toolkit have potential applicability to other musculoskeletal populations.

Keywords: COVID; access to care; community health; low back pain; primary care; quality improvement; spine; virtual care.

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Conflict of interest statement

The author(s) declared no potential conflicts of interest with respect to the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article.

Figures

Figure 1.
Figure 1.
Ontario RAC-LBP integrated clinical pathway.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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