Organization and offer of physical therapy care in response to the COVID-19 pandemic in Brazil

Abstract

The recovery of people affected by COVID-19 is a process that continues beyond the acute condition of infection by Sars-CoV-2. The impairment of several body systems can cause functional impacts and demand continuous physical therapy assistance both in outpatient care and in Primary Health Care (PHC). In this essay, we seek to discuss the challenges of organizing and offering Physical Therapy assistance in response to the COVID-19 pandemic in Brazil. The analysis was summarized in three dimensions: offering physical therapy assistance in PHC, outpatient care, via telehealth. It is concluded that functional rehabilitation depends on the PHC’s response capacity; there is a shortage of rehabilitation services that precedes the pandemic, and may not respond satisfactorily to the demands of the current epidemiological context; it is necessary to articulate the outpatient physiotherapy and PHC teams; although telehealth is a resource and an opportunity to increase the population’s access to functional rehabilitation, its use requires caution; the physiotherapist plays a crucial role in the en-tire COVID-19 care continuum.