Continuing Chronic Disease Care During COVID-19 and Beyond

Patients with chronic diseases incur indirect costs to health care through recurrent hospital admissions, generate congestion in emergency rooms, and present challenges with transportation for those with mobility impairment.1 In Singapore, the proportion of older adults with 3 or more chronic diseases nearly doubled from 2009 to 2017.2 In our local setting, patients with complex chronic diseases maintain scheduled in-person consultations with hospital-based specialists. The COVID-19 pandemic has prompted us to explore innovative ways of continuing outpatient care.