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Identification of emergencies in the telephone queue and routing to a fast track (FAST): study protocol for a prospective, two-armed cohort study

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Title: Identification of emergencies in the telephone queue and routing to a fast track (FAST): study protocol for a prospective, two-armed cohort study
Authors: Eichler, Sarah, Herrmann, Tobias, Weidlich-Wichmann, Uta, Vissiennon, Kodjo, Pollmann, Thorsten, Weller, Lisa, Pommerenke, Christopher, Kroll, Lars, Alix, Nicolas, Dietsch, Tanja, von Stillfried, Dominik, Carnarius, Sebastian
Contributors: Eichler, Sarah, Herrmann, Tobias, Weidlich-Wichmann, Uta, Vissiennon, Kodjo, Pollmann, Thorsten, Weller, Lisa, Pommerenke, Christopher, Kroll, Lars, Alix, Nicolas, Dietsch, Tanja, Carnarius, Sebastian
Source: BMC Health Serv Res
BMC Health Services Research, Vol 24, Iss 1, Pp 1-7 (2024)
Publisher Information: Springer Science and Business Media LLC, 2024.
Publication Year: 2024
Subject Terms: Hotlines [MeSH], Study Protocol, Humans [MeSH], Prospective Studies [MeSH], SmED, Telephone [MeSH], Emergencies [MeSH], Triage/methods [MeSH], Telephone patient service, Germany [MeSH], Fast track, Structural initial assessment, Waiting Lists [MeSH], Waiting queue management, Waiting Lists, Telephone, Germany, Hotlines, Humans, Prospective Studies, Public aspects of medicine, RA1-1270, Emergencies, Triage
Description: Background: In Germany, the telephone patient service 116117 for callers with non-life-threatening health issues is available 24/7. Based on structured initial assessment, urgency and placement of suitable medical care offer have been offered since 2020. The service has been in increasing demand for several years: Depending on time and residence, this can result in longer waiting times. Methods: Prospective, two-armed cohort study with two intervention groups and one control group, alternating between blinding and unblinding for employees of 116117 regarding prioritization status. Two interventions based on automated voice dialogues (1: Simple self-rating tool, 2: Automated brief query of emergency symptoms). In case of high level of urgency, callers are prioritized. Validation of urgency and need for care is carried out routinely based on structured initial assessment. Discussion: By creating and providing a largely reproducible documentation of the implemented solutions for a waiting queue management, the developed approach would be available for comparable projects in the German health care system or in the European context. This potentially leads to a reduction in the use of resources in the development of comparable technical solutions based on automated voice dialogs. Trial registration: DRKS00031235, registered on 10th November 2023, https://drks.de/search/de/trial/DRKS00031235
Document Type: Article
Other literature type
Language: English
ISSN: 1472-6963
DOI: 10.1186/s12913-024-11583-y
DOI: 10.21203/rs.3.rs-3969650/v1
Access URL: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/39285300
https://doaj.org/article/2e31473dd5f24c39a6a0886819f597fe
https://resolver.sub.uni-goettingen.de/purl?gro-2/145601
https://repository.publisso.de/resource/frl:6492929
Rights: CC BY NC ND
CC BY
Accession Number: edsair.doi.dedup.....dd5e840ebf32d27b9ee4e863f416d044
Database: OpenAIRE
Description
Abstract:Background: In Germany, the telephone patient service 116117 for callers with non-life-threatening health issues is available 24/7. Based on structured initial assessment, urgency and placement of suitable medical care offer have been offered since 2020. The service has been in increasing demand for several years: Depending on time and residence, this can result in longer waiting times. Methods: Prospective, two-armed cohort study with two intervention groups and one control group, alternating between blinding and unblinding for employees of 116117 regarding prioritization status. Two interventions based on automated voice dialogues (1: Simple self-rating tool, 2: Automated brief query of emergency symptoms). In case of high level of urgency, callers are prioritized. Validation of urgency and need for care is carried out routinely based on structured initial assessment. Discussion: By creating and providing a largely reproducible documentation of the implemented solutions for a waiting queue management, the developed approach would be available for comparable projects in the German health care system or in the European context. This potentially leads to a reduction in the use of resources in the development of comparable technical solutions based on automated voice dialogs. Trial registration: DRKS00031235, registered on 10th November 2023, https://drks.de/search/de/trial/DRKS00031235
ISSN:14726963
DOI:10.1186/s12913-024-11583-y