The Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Family Medicine Practices in Saudi Arabia

Abstract

BackgroundThe COVID-19 pandemic is one of the largest global healthcare crises in nearly a century. To face this global health emergency, health institutions have had to readjust their functioning while ensuring the continuity of care and protecting medical staff and patients. Our aim in this study was to assess the consequences of the COVID-19 outbreak on family medicine and its practice in Saudi Arabia. MethodsThis cross-sectional study was conducted during the period from June 30, 2020, to July 20, 2020, by posting an online survey on social media platforms (WhatsApp and Twitter) and emailing physicians individually to collect data on the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on family medicine and primary care practices during the period of lockdown in Saudi Arabia. ResultsA total of 382 primary healthcare (PHC) providers participated in the study (males: 213 (55.8%); females: 169 (44.2%)). The mean age and standard deviation of the population were 38.27±7.46. Most participants were from governmental health sectors. Participants revealed that they have a good level of knowledge regarding COVID-19. However, they indicated confusion regarding the knowledge due to changing recommendations or multiple-source information. Only 57.3% of respondents received relevant training on the use of personal protective equipment (PPE). The most frequently used PPE were surgical masks (100%) and gloves (98.4%). The highly protective N95 masks were used by only 55.7%. Many health care workers indicated a high rate of stress and anxiety about the COVID-19 pandemic. Data obtained are suggestive that there was a reduction in outpatient visits and a reduction in consultation time. Canceled physical examinations of the patients during the consultation were encountered most of the time. There was no shortage of medications, nasopharyngeal swabs, or sanitizers. However, an occasional lack of PPEs occurred. 64.4% of the respondents used online consultations with their patients. A shortage of health care workers during the pandemic in family medicine clinics was encountered by 63.3% of the participants. ConclusionFamily medicine practices are adversely affected by pandemics and lockdowns following them. It has been reported that COVID-19 interferes with preventive, chronic, and acute care visits and increases mental health visits. Outpatient visits have also decreased as well as the amount of time spent in consultations. In addition, the transition from in-person clinics to telemedicine has happened. Perhaps these changes will delay the diagnosis and prescription refills.

Exploring interrelationships of COVID-19 dimensions in Saudi Arabia: a systematic review

“…Those who exhibit severe conditions, in Saudi Arabia, were foreigners who had a history of chronic diseases and co-morbidities including diabetes, hypertension, and thyroid (Alqahtani et al 2020 ). Moreover, COVID-19 as an epidemic interferes with preventive, chronic and acute care visits (Shatla et al 2021 ). It was recognized that those with diabetes, a significant health issue in Saudi Arabia, affected by COVID-19 are at high risk of disease severity and mortality (Robert and Al-Dawish 2021 ).…”

“…New methods of learning and training lead to stresses among health staff and patients creating anxiety and depression, thus demanding psychological support programs (Balhareth et al 2020 ). Additionally, an increase in mental health visits were reported during the pandemic (Shatla et al 2021 ). Higher levels of depression and anxiety prevalence were reported among the general population of Riyadh city during the pandemic, especially among females, younger individuals and those with a history of psychiatric illnesses, that too, at a vulnerable level needing more support (Al-Hanawi et al 2020 ).…”

“…Virtual clinic initiatives, established at outpatient clinics, facilitated e-prescriptions (Alabdulkarim et al 2020 ). Cancellation of UMRA and HAJJ (Ebrahim and Memish 2020 a, 2020 b; Shatla et al 2021 ) was also of importance. Moreover, it is realized to maximize knowledge to formulate public health policies for controlling epidemic (Jdaitawi et al 2020 ).…”

Impact of telemedicine on glycemic control in type 2 diabetes mellitus during the COVID-19 lockdown period

“…As a result of the global pandemic that emerged at the end of 2019 due to the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) (1), many countries began closing their boarders and implemented stay-at home (lockdown) measures to limit the spread of the virus and protect their citizens (2). This lockdown inadvertently restricted patients with per-existing comorbidities to visit outpatient clinics, limited their physical activities, influenced their eating habits, and impacted their psychological status (3).…”

Monoclonal antibody designed for SARS-nCoV-2 spike protein of receptor binding domain on antigenic targeted epitopes for inhibition to prevent viral entry

“…A patient with SARS-nCoV-2 who has had mild to severe respiratory infection with symptoms such as fever, cough, and shortness of breath is a complication of this virus. A major purpose is to support artificial intelligence (AI) that is being used to help fight the viral pandemic, which has spread worldwide since the beginning of the year 2020, [ 3 , 4 , 29 , 32 ].…”