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. 2023 Nov 9;10:1251915. doi: 10.3389/fmed.2023.1251915

Table 2.

Network activities.

Competence network Long COVID Rhein-Neckar Long COVID network Ludwigsburg
Activities carried out in the network
Web site1 Web site2

  • - List of network participants (occupational therapy, speech therapy, neuropsychology, pediatrics, physiotherapy, rehabilitation, self-help, special contact points in inpatient/university settings)

  • - Aims

  • - Information for patients and professionals

  • - Patient pathways

  • - Continuing education

  • - Studies from the network

  • - List of network participants (general practice with long-COVID specialization, occupational therapy, ENT, cardiology, speech therapy, pediatrics, physiotherapy, pneumology, psychotherapy, rehabilitation, self-help, sports therapy)

  • - Information for citizens and professionals with aims

  • - Patient pathways

  • - Continuing education
Patient pathways Patient pathways

  • - Consensus of a regional care concept based on general practice with 18 experts (multidisciplinary, multispecialty, intersectoral)

  • - Beginning Fall 2021, based on the German S1 Long COVID guideline3 (first published Fall 2021)

  • - Consensus on treatment pathways based on general practice and network interface agreements (multidisciplinary, multispecialty)

  • - Based on the German S1-Long COVID guideline3
Means of communication Means of communication

  • - E-mail contact (requests to the network)

  • - E-mail distribution list (availability of network participants)

  • - Newsletter distribution list (external access)

  • - On request, partial dissemination via e-mail distribution lists of institutions (professional associations, Association of Statutory Health Insurance Physicians)

  • - Video conferencing

  • - E-mail contact option (requests to the network)

  • - E-mail distribution list (availability of network participants)

  • - Video conferencing

  • - Medical care: Telephone, fax
Regional collaboration Reginal collaboration

  • - Initial working groups occupational therapy, physiotherapy (discontinued)

  • - 4 advisory board meetings (online)

  • - Participation of regional stakeholders in training programs

  • - Renewed attempt to set up working groups

  • - Quality circle (see below)

  • - Within the care by interface agreements

  • - Participation of regional actors in training programs
Supra-regional collaboration Supra-regional collaboration

  • - Repeated informal exchange of experiences with Long-COVID network Ludwigsburg since November 2021

  • - Exchanges with meso and macro-level with development of follow-up projects, participation in the organization of education, distribution of information and beginning multiplication of regional network structures

  • - Repeated informal exchange of experience with competence network Long-COVID Rhein-Neckar since November 2021
Continuing education Continuing education

  • - 3 online training, target group: regional physicians

  • - 2 regional trainings for physiotherapists regionally in cooperation with Physio Deutschland (professional association for physiotherapy)

  • - Online-on-demand training, targeted at all health care professionals supra-regional4

  • - 2 regional online trainings

  • - 1 regional online quality circle
Patients treated in the network
Number Number

  • - Cannot be determined from available data

  • - Total network January–October 2022 approx. 250 patients
Topics from the stakeholders’ perspective

  • - wide range from mildly affected with temporary reduction in performance to severely affected with long term suffering

  • - severely affected with relevance of topics:

    • - post-exertional malaise

    • - non-established therapies

    • - resulting social difficulties

  • - perceived desperation and lack of care

  • - high time demands for care

  • - challenges in assigning patient-presented symptoms

  • - patients with and without previous mental illness, overlap ping symptoms with psychosomatic illnesses, patient concerns about psychologizing

  • - 4 general practices January–March 2023 approx. 40 patients, of which 15 are consulted patients from other general practices.

1(29), 2(30), 3(15), 4https://drks.de/search/de/trial/DRKS00028869 (last accessed June 8, 2023).