A small but growing number of health systems are launching dedicated clinics or programs for COVID-19 patients with lingering symptoms, reports Kaiser Health News.
Aurora, Colo.-based UCHealth opened its post-COVID clinic this summer to study and treat patients who face lingering physical and mental side effects from the virus, including lung damage, anxiety or neurological issues.
"We need to think about how we're going to provide care for patients who may be recovering for years after the virus," Sarah Jolley, MD, a pulmonologist and director of UCHealth's Post-Covid Clinic, told Kaiser Health News.
Some researchers and clinics estimate about 10 percent of COVID-19 patients may have lingering side effects, according to Zijian Chen, MD, medical director of Mount Sinai Health System's Center for Post-COVID Care in New York City.
Considering that more than 6.5 million people in the U.S. have already tested positive for the virus, the number of people who may experience long-term symptoms could be "staggering," Dr. Chen told Kaiser Health News.
"How much medical care will be needed for that?" he asked.
Other academic medical centers that have opened clinics to aid patients with long-term symptoms include the University of California-San Francisco, Stanford (Calif.) University Medical Center and Philadelphia-based Penn Medicine. Cleveland Clinic also plans to open one in early 2021, according to the report.
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