A Just-in-Time Implementation of an Extension for Community Health Outcomes (ECHO) Program for Support of Primary Care During the COVID-19 Pandemic

Authors

Kyle Leggott, Department of Family Medicine, University of Colorado School of Medicine, Aurora
Leah Willis, ECHO Colorado Program Center, University of Colorado School of Medicine, Aurora
Joseph Saseen, Department of Clinical Pharmacy, Skaggs School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of Colorado, Aurora
Alexis Burakoff, Department of Clinical Pharmacy, Skaggs School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of Colorado, Aurora; Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment, Denver
Douglas Fish, Department of Clinical Pharmacy, Skaggs School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of Colorado, Aurora
Linda Oberst-Walsh, Department of Family Medicine, University of Colorado School of Medicine, Aurora
Kurt Cook, Department of Family Medicine, University of Colorado School of Medicine, Aurora; Denver Health and Hospital Authority Division of Family Medicine, Denver, CO
John "Fred" Thomas, ECHO Colorado Program Center, University of Colorado School of Medicine, Aurora; University of Colorado School of Medicine and School of Public Health, Aurora

Document Type

Article

Publication Date

2021

Abstract

As was experienced across the country, the COVID-19 pandemic reached Colorado in early spring 2020. Yet, unlike many of the early hotspots in other states, the initial cases in Colorado surfaced in rural areas. It was evident early on it would be a public health crisis unlike anything Colorado had ever faced. There was an urgent need for rapid dissemination of up-to-date information and practice support provided by a multidisciplinary task force of academic health center and state public health experts working collaboratively to meet these needs. This article provides a roadmap for the development of a similar model, a community-connected Extension for Community Health Outcomes (ECHO) program based at an academic medical center and its ability to facilitate the service rapidly and scale to need. (J Am Board Fam Med 2021;34:481–488.)

Recommended Citation

Leggott, K., Willis, L., Saseen, J., Burakoff, A., Fish, D., Oberst-Walsh, L., & Cook, K. A Just-in-Time implementation of an Extension for Community Health Outcomes (ECHO) program for support of primary care during the COVID-19 pandemic. The Journal of the American Board of Family Medicine. 2021; 34(3), 481488. Available at: https://www.jabfm.org/content/jabfp/34/3/481.full.pdf.