A Rapid Primary Healthcare Response to COVID-19: An Equity-Based and Systems-Thinking Approach to Care Ensuring that No One Is Left Behind.

ABSTRACT

Recent data from across the globe show that COVID-19 is disproportionately affecting those who are already adversely impacted by social determinants of health. In this paper, we explore how members of the Alliance for Healthier Communities - comprehensive, salary-based primary care organizations in Ontario - anticipated the same and rapidly responded by adapting their services to ensure continued equitable access to primary care services. Lessons from this project could be adapted in other primary care team-based models or partnerships to ensure ongoing support for populations that are most at risk from COVID-19 and the consequences of restricted access to services.