Survey Shows How MS Care Providers Have Shifted Gears During Pandemic

ORLANDO, Fla. – The pandemic required nearly all healthcare workers to abruptly adapt their practices. Many were deployed to the front lines to address urgent needs relating to COVID-19 care, shifting time and resources away from their regular practice. Elizabeth Morrison-Banks, MD, from the University of California Riverside and colleagues from Cleveland Clinic and the National MS Society created a survey to find out how MS clinicians were holding up, and how the rapidly evolving conditions were affecting their practice.

Dr. Morrison reported on the survey findings at the Consortium of Multiple Sclerosis Centers (CMSC) Annual Meeting here. Of 88 responses received from 32 U.S. states, over half were from physicians, including 41 neurologists. Other healthcare disciplines represented were rehabilitation professionals (18), PAs and NPS (8), psychologists (7) and social workers.

Most respondents felt they had adequate personal protective equipment as of early January 2021 when the results were published. However, about 10% said they had been re-deployed to provide COVID-19 patient care, and another 16% said they anticipated such a change. Telemedicine services were among the most profound changes. Almost a third of MS clinicians said they were providing 75% or more of their patient care via online platforms. Some disease modifying therapies were being prescribed less, especially high-efficacy, infusible therapies such as alemtuzumab and ocrelizumab.

“I think it's safe to say the COVID 19 pandemic has profoundly changed most clinical practice,” Dr. Morrison said. “Re-deploying MS clinicians to the front lines of COVID 19 care, which we found was happening in two large groups, could challenge the capacity of MS health care workforce. Future research is needed to explore these trends and inform consensus guidelines on the best treatment practices for MS care during and after the COVID 19 pandemic,” she concluded.