Benefits of phone consultation for endoscopy-related clinics in the COVID-19 pandemic.
Adult
Ambulatory Care
/ statistics & numerical data
Ambulatory Care Facilities
/ organization & administration
Attitude of Health Personnel
Australia
/ epidemiology
COVID-19
/ epidemiology
Delivery of Health Care
/ trends
Endoscopy, Digestive System
Female
Humans
Infection Control
/ methods
Male
Organizational Innovation
Patient Satisfaction
/ statistics & numerical data
Physical Examination
/ statistics & numerical data
Remote Consultation
/ methods
SARS-CoV-2
COVID-19
Endoscopy
Outpatient clinic
Telehealth
Journal
Journal of gastroenterology and hepatology
ISSN: 1440-1746
Titre abrégé: J Gastroenterol Hepatol
Pays: Australia
ID NLM: 8607909
Informations de publication
Date de publication:
Apr 2021
Apr 2021
Historique:
revised:
17
09
2020
received:
30
07
2020
accepted:
28
09
2020
pubmed:
11
10
2020
medline:
27
4
2021
entrez:
10
10
2020
Statut:
ppublish
Résumé
During COVID-19 outbreak, restrictions to in-person consultations were introduced with a rise in telehealth. An indirect benefit of telehealth could be better attendance. This study aimed to assess "failure-to-attend" (FTA) rate and satisfaction for two endoscopy-related compulsory telehealth clinics during the COVID-19 outbreak. Consecutive patients booked for endoscopy-related telehealth clinics at a tertiary hospital were prospectively assessed. In-person clinic control data were assessed retrospectively. Sample size was calculated to detect an anticipated increase in attendance of 8%. Secondary outcomes included FTA differences between clinics and evaluation of patients and doctors satisfaction. Satisfaction was assessed based on six Likert scale questions used in previous telehealth research and asked to both patients and doctors (6Q_score). This study was exempt from IRB review after institutional IRB review. There were 691 patients booked for appointments in our endoscopy clinics during the study periods (373 in 2020). FTA rates were lowered by half during the compulsory telehealth clinics (12.6% to 6.4%, P < 0.01). The patient 6Q_score was higher for the advanced endoscopy clinic (84.6% vs 73.8%, P < 0.01), while the doctor 6Q_score was similar between both advanced clinics and post endoscopy clinics (91.1% vs 92.5% respectively, P = 0.80). An in-person follow-up consultation was suggested for 3.5% of the appointments, while the necessity of physical examination was flagged in 5.1%. The use of phone consultations in endoscopy-related clinics during the COVID-19 outbreak has improved FTA rates while demonstrating high satisfaction rates. The need for in-person follow-up consultations and physical examination were low.
Sections du résumé
BACKGROUND AND AIM
OBJECTIVE
During COVID-19 outbreak, restrictions to in-person consultations were introduced with a rise in telehealth. An indirect benefit of telehealth could be better attendance. This study aimed to assess "failure-to-attend" (FTA) rate and satisfaction for two endoscopy-related compulsory telehealth clinics during the COVID-19 outbreak.
METHODS
METHODS
Consecutive patients booked for endoscopy-related telehealth clinics at a tertiary hospital were prospectively assessed. In-person clinic control data were assessed retrospectively. Sample size was calculated to detect an anticipated increase in attendance of 8%. Secondary outcomes included FTA differences between clinics and evaluation of patients and doctors satisfaction. Satisfaction was assessed based on six Likert scale questions used in previous telehealth research and asked to both patients and doctors (6Q_score). This study was exempt from IRB review after institutional IRB review.
RESULTS
RESULTS
There were 691 patients booked for appointments in our endoscopy clinics during the study periods (373 in 2020). FTA rates were lowered by half during the compulsory telehealth clinics (12.6% to 6.4%, P < 0.01). The patient 6Q_score was higher for the advanced endoscopy clinic (84.6% vs 73.8%, P < 0.01), while the doctor 6Q_score was similar between both advanced clinics and post endoscopy clinics (91.1% vs 92.5% respectively, P = 0.80). An in-person follow-up consultation was suggested for 3.5% of the appointments, while the necessity of physical examination was flagged in 5.1%.
CONCLUSIONS
CONCLUSIONS
The use of phone consultations in endoscopy-related clinics during the COVID-19 outbreak has improved FTA rates while demonstrating high satisfaction rates. The need for in-person follow-up consultations and physical examination were low.
Identifiants
pubmed: 33037824
doi: 10.1111/jgh.15292
pmc: PMC7675268
doi:
Types de publication
Journal Article
Langues
eng
Sous-ensembles de citation
IM
Pagination
1064-1080Informations de copyright
© 2020 Journal of Gastroenterology and Hepatology Foundation and John Wiley & Sons Australia, Ltd.
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