Healthcare professionals' perspective on the organization of COVID-19 post-hospital aftercare: perspective, barriers and facilitators

BackgroundAfter the outbreak of COVID-19, new post-hospital aftercare for patients with COVID-19 had to be established which healthcare professionals (HCPs) had to implement in their healthcare settings.PurposeThis study aimed to evaluate HCPs' perspective on the organization of COVID-19 post-hospital aftercare and identify barriers and facilitators regarding this aftercare in the Netherlands.MethodsIn this mixed-methods study we sent out a survey 1 and 2 years after the COVID-19 outbreak in the Netherlands to healthcare institutions (HCIs) and asked HCPs across multiple disciplines involved in the COVID-19 post-hospital aftercare to participate. The survey comprised three parts: (1) demographics; (2) the Care Process Self-Evaluation Tool as quantitative measure (CPSET; five domains; scoring range 0-100) to assess HCPs' perspective on COVID-19 post-hospital aftercare; and (3) barriers and facilitators regarding this aftercare as a qualitative measure. Descriptive statistics and thematic analysis were performed.ResultsAt 1 year, 82 HCPs from 48 HCIs, and at 2 years, 29 HCPs from 24 HCIs participated in the survey. Overall, HCPs had a favorable perspective on COVID-19 aftercare in both assessments. The CPSET domain 'patient-focused organization' scored highest (median 81.7 [interquartile range 75.0-90.0] and 85.0 [78.3-96.7]) and 'monitoring of follow-up care' lowest (67.1 [55.7-75.7] and 70.0 [52.0-86.7]) at 1 and 2 years, respectively. According to HCPs the COVID-19 post-hospital aftercare solutions to overcome the identified barriers include a clear follow-up and referral procedures with emphasis on multidisciplinary treatment, employment of more HCPs, and extension of treatment duration.ConclusionWe concluded that HCPs generally held a positive perspective on COVID-19 aftercare, despite its rapid development and reliance on expert opinion. Key steps in improving COVID-19 aftercare include using quality indicators for monitoring of follow-up care, establishing a well-defined aftercare pathway, addressing resource constraints, and enhancing multidisciplinary collaboration and communication. These insights obtained from HCPs are crucial for policymakers and national healthcare authorities to further improve COVID-19 post-hospital aftercare and for pandemic preparedness.