Introduction. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, healthcare centers quickly adapted services into virtual formats. Pain clinics in Canada play a vital role in helping people living with pain, and these clinics remained essential services for patients throughout the pandemic. This study aimed to (1) describe and compare the transition from in-person to virtual pain care services at Canadian pain clinics during the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic and (2) provide postpandemic recommendations for pain care services to optimize the quality of patient care. Materials and Methods. We used a qualitative participatory action study design that included a cross-sectional survey for data collection and descriptive analysis to summarize the findings. Survey responses were collected between January and March of 2021. The survey was administered to the leadership teams of 11 adult pain clinics affiliated with the Chronic Pain Centre of Excellence for Canadian Veterans. Responses were analyzed qualitatively to describe the transition to the virtual pain services at pain clinics. Results. We achieved a 100% response rate from participating clinics. The results focus on describing the transition to the virtual care, current treatment and services, the quality of care, program sustainability, barriers to maintaining virtual services, and future considerations. Conclusions. Participating clinics were capable of transitioning pain care services to the virtual formats and have in-person care when needed with proper safety precautions. The pandemic demonstrated that it is feasible and sustainable for pain clinics to have a hybrid of virtual and in-person care to treat those living with pain. It is recommended that moving forward, there should be a hybrid of both virtual and in-person care for pain clinics. Ministries of Health should continue to develop policies and funding mechanisms that support innovations aimed at holistic healthcare, interdisciplinary teams, and the expansion of clinics’ geographical reach for patient access.

中文翻译：

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加拿大疼痛诊所在 COVID-19 期间过渡到虚拟护理服务：调查和未来建议

介绍。由于 COVID-19 大流行，医疗中心迅速将服务调整为虚拟格式。加拿大的疼痛诊所在帮助疼痛患者方面发挥着至关重要的作用，在整个大流行期间，这些诊所仍然为患者提供必不可少的服务。本研究旨在 (1) 描述和比较 COVID-19 大流行期间加拿大疼痛诊所从面对面疼痛护理服务到虚拟疼痛护理服务的转变，以及 (2) 为疼痛护理服务提供大流行后建议，以优化疼痛护理服务的质量病人护理。材料和方法. 我们使用了定性参与式行动研究设计，其中包括用于数据收集的横断面调查和描述性分析以总结研究结果。调查答复是在 2021 年 1 月至 3 月期间收集的。该调查是针对隶属于加拿大退伍军人慢性疼痛卓越中心的 11 家成人疼痛诊所的领导团队进行的。对响应进行定性分析，以描述疼痛诊所向虚拟疼痛服务的过渡。结果。我们从参与诊所获得了 100% 的回应率。结果侧重于描述向虚拟护理的过渡、当前的治疗和服务、护理质量、项目可持续性、维护虚拟服务的障碍以及未来的考虑。结论. 参与的诊所能够将疼痛护理服务转变为虚拟格式，并在需要时采取适当的安全预防措施进行面对面护理。大流行表明，疼痛诊所采用虚拟和面对面护理相结合的方式来治疗疼痛患者是可行且可持续的。建议向前推进，应该为疼痛诊所提供虚拟和面对面护理的混合体。卫生部应继续制定政策和资助机制，以支持旨在全面医疗保健、跨学科团队和扩大诊所地理范围以方便患者就诊的创新。