Access to Care in the "New Normal"

Prior to COVID-19, health centers often struggled with engaging patients in their care or providing care in non-traditional ways, such as via telehealth or the patient portal. Now, health centers have the opportunity to set a new standard for how patients can access health care services in the “new normal”. By structuring an access monitoring program, health centers can measure and positively impact provider continuity, appropriate schedule utilization, appointment availability, and patient engagement. Health centers have the opportunity to leverage the hard work and ingenuity demonstrated when implementing processes in response to COVID-19, such as those for text message communication, COVID-19 testing services, and telehealth, and can now optimize and sustain these process to improve access to care and increase patient engagement long-term.