Throughout the pandemic, family doctors have been fielding a crowd of seemingly simple questions about COVID, generated by swift shifts in rules, tools and vaccines. With Omicron infecting much of the community, patients have become increasingly confused, and the need for clear information and direct advice has grown. At the same time, emergency departments are increasingly busy. Some of those visiting are very sick and need additional care but others could have safely managed at home but did not have the information to help them do so.

To support patients and help ease the immense pressure on the healthcare system,  the Department of  Family and Community Medicine (DFCM) at the University of Toronto and the Ontario College of Family Physicians (OCFP) have produced a new and accessible online resource called Confused About COVID? Family Doctors Answer Your Questions.   

Available at ConfusedAboutCOVID.ca, the resource presents 12 plain-language questions and answers assembled by a team of family doctors, led by Dr. Tara Kiran, a family doctor at St. Michael's Academic Family Health Team, Unity Health Toronto, and Vice-Chair Quality and Innovation at DFCM.   ConfusedAboutCOVID.ca provides up-to-date information and advice that patients and the public can trust, understand and use to protect themselves and their families. Several of the questions have already been updated to reflect changes to COVID advice and rules. The resources are available in French, Simplified Chinese, Traditional Chinese and Korean, with Farsi and Spanish to follow shortly.

ConfusedAboutCOVID.ca  guides people through all the do's and don'ts around COVID, and is a good tool for healthcare providers to use when helping patents make informed decisions about their own health and how to protect it – something that can help patients restore some sense of control over a force that has overwhelmed their lives.

How hospitals might make use of ConfusedAboutCOVID.ca:

• Include the up-to-date resources in your regular or targeted communications with staff, clinicians and families or caregivers.
• Print and share the handouts with patients (and those supporting them) as they leave your Emergency Departments. The information can help them understand when they can manage at home rather than return to the ED and who to turn to when they need medical care. This resource will be particularly helpful.
  
• Pass along the information to community stakeholders and Ontario Health Team partner organizations
• To provide parents and expectant parents with answers related to their health and the health of their child, you can point them to Question 7 and Question 8.
  

How do I know if I have COVID? Who can get a test? How long do I need to isolate for? Does my family need to isolate too? When should I be worried and see a doctor? When should I call the doctor if I'm pregnant or worried about my child? What treatments might help me recover more quickly? Do I really need a 3rd dose?

The risks, the rules, the advice and the options have changed over time, depending on one's health and circumstances. This reality has resulted in people spending hours sifting through mounds of material for direction on questions most relevant to their lives and health.

As one family physician lamented: "High quality, accurate information exists, but it often is not user friendly. It tends to be long-winded, not written in clear terms and is spread over many different places, making it hard for patients – especially elderly ones -- to get the answers they need."   A patient advisor concurs, welcoming the resources: "They really hit the spot! They are simple and give patients answers that seem so hard to get, about basic things. Where to go, what to do. When can I be reasonably confident that I'm safe? Thank you!"

DFCM Chair Dr. Danielle Martin and Dr. Kiran say that primary care teams need reliable resources to help them support people managing on their own and to identify and help people who need timely interventions to keep them from becoming seriously sick. OCFP CEO Kim Moran and OCFP President Dr. Elizabeth Muggah add that Confused About COVID? can help health providers cut through the ever-changing thicket of research, public health guidance and tools for prevention and treatment.

The partners encourage everyone to share the Confused About COVID? resources through all their networks and communications channels. Questions or comments about ConfusedAboutCOVID.ca, can be sent to dfcm.quality@utoronto.ca.