Mitigation Phase Playbook: COVID-19

Shifting to a mitigation strategy to slow the spread

Community transmission of the new coronavirus is occurring in California and across the United States. Health care systems must immediately switch to a mitigation strategy to slow the spread of the virus and reduce the impacts of the surge in COVID-19 cases on the health care system. A mitigation approach will help health care systems to provide the right levels of care for patients, expand testing capability, increase hospital capacity, and ensure enhanced droplet protection for preventing additional spread of COVID-19 within and outside medical facilities.

The “Kaiser Permanente Northern California Mitigation Phase Playbook: Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19)” summarizes the mitigation strategy adopted by Kaiser Permanente Northern California and developed with The Permanente Medical Group. The playbook includes detailed operational plans, with workflows, charts, photos, graphics, and phone scripts for:

• Managing patients with COVID-19, patients under investigation, and those who are asymptomatic or with minimal symptoms, including testing, telehealth, rooming, respiratory therapy, surgical procedures, and medical transport.
• PPE doffing and donning procedures, and stewardship.
• Care continuum and visitation at medical office buildings, hospitals, outpatient clinics, temporary testing sites, pharmacy, laboratory, home health care, and other facilities.
• Strategies for ongoing maternal, child, and behavioral health.
• Outreach and education for patients, physicians, and care teams.
• Procedures for workplace exposure and symptomatic health care workers.

The information in this playbook is intended for clinicians only. Information for consumers, members, and patients can be found at cdc.gov or on kp.org.

Kaiser Permanente Northern California Mitigation Phase Playbook