Feasibility of a Telemedicine Urgent Care Program to Address Patient Complaints on First Contact
Many health systems employ nurse telephone advice services to facilitate remote triage of patients to appropriate level of care. However, the effectiveness of these programs to reduce ED and subsequent health care utilization remains to be demonstrated. We describe a novel virtual urgent care progra...
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| Main Authors: | , , , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
Wiley
2020-01-01
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| Series: | Emergency Medicine International |
| Online Access: | http://dx.doi.org/10.1155/2020/8875644 |
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| _version_ | 1849695387436187648 |
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| author | Amy D. Lu Myla Junge Jonathan Garber Anna K. Abramson Mary A. Whooley Janeen E. Smith |
| author_facet | Amy D. Lu Myla Junge Jonathan Garber Anna K. Abramson Mary A. Whooley Janeen E. Smith |
| author_sort | Amy D. Lu |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Many health systems employ nurse telephone advice services to facilitate remote triage of patients to appropriate level of care. However, the effectiveness of these programs to reduce ED and subsequent health care utilization remains to be demonstrated. We describe a novel virtual urgent care program implemented within a Veterans Affairs (VA) health care system that interfaces with a nurse telephone advice line and leverages telemedicine tools to rapidly address and resolve nonemergent conditions. During a 4-month pilot period, 104 unique patients received care through the program, and over 85% of patients achieved timely resolution for their urgent complaints on first contact with the health care system. Demonstrating feasibility for such a program has potential implications for the optimization of remote triage and urgent care services to improve health care utilization and outcomes. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-d71a3823a4564e86aece03b7567b243e |
| institution | DOAJ |
| issn | 2090-2840 2090-2859 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2020-01-01 |
| publisher | Wiley |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Emergency Medicine International |
| spelling | doaj-art-d71a3823a4564e86aece03b7567b243e2025-08-20T03:19:47ZengWileyEmergency Medicine International2090-28402090-28592020-01-01202010.1155/2020/88756448875644Feasibility of a Telemedicine Urgent Care Program to Address Patient Complaints on First ContactAmy D. Lu0Myla Junge1Jonathan Garber2Anna K. Abramson3Mary A. Whooley4Janeen E. Smith5San Francisco Veterans Affairs Health Care System, San Francisco, USASan Francisco Veterans Affairs Health Care System, San Francisco, USASan Francisco Veterans Affairs Health Care System, San Francisco, USASan Francisco Veterans Affairs Health Care System, San Francisco, USASan Francisco Veterans Affairs Health Care System, San Francisco, USASan Francisco Veterans Affairs Health Care System, San Francisco, USAMany health systems employ nurse telephone advice services to facilitate remote triage of patients to appropriate level of care. However, the effectiveness of these programs to reduce ED and subsequent health care utilization remains to be demonstrated. We describe a novel virtual urgent care program implemented within a Veterans Affairs (VA) health care system that interfaces with a nurse telephone advice line and leverages telemedicine tools to rapidly address and resolve nonemergent conditions. During a 4-month pilot period, 104 unique patients received care through the program, and over 85% of patients achieved timely resolution for their urgent complaints on first contact with the health care system. Demonstrating feasibility for such a program has potential implications for the optimization of remote triage and urgent care services to improve health care utilization and outcomes.http://dx.doi.org/10.1155/2020/8875644 |
| spellingShingle | Amy D. Lu Myla Junge Jonathan Garber Anna K. Abramson Mary A. Whooley Janeen E. Smith Feasibility of a Telemedicine Urgent Care Program to Address Patient Complaints on First Contact Emergency Medicine International |
| title | Feasibility of a Telemedicine Urgent Care Program to Address Patient Complaints on First Contact |
| title_full | Feasibility of a Telemedicine Urgent Care Program to Address Patient Complaints on First Contact |
| title_fullStr | Feasibility of a Telemedicine Urgent Care Program to Address Patient Complaints on First Contact |
| title_full_unstemmed | Feasibility of a Telemedicine Urgent Care Program to Address Patient Complaints on First Contact |
| title_short | Feasibility of a Telemedicine Urgent Care Program to Address Patient Complaints on First Contact |
| title_sort | feasibility of a telemedicine urgent care program to address patient complaints on first contact |
| url | http://dx.doi.org/10.1155/2020/8875644 |
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