JMIR Publications

ABSTRACT

Background:

Out-of-hours primary care (OOH-PC) is challenged by increasing workload and workforce shortage, leading to longer waiting time and increased risk of treatment delay and safety incidents. At the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, video in telephone contacts was implemented as an alternative to face-to-face contacts in OOH-PC. We hypothesized that use of video contributes to a sustainable OOH-PC by changing patient flows, decreasing workload, and reducing waiting and travel time.

Objective:

To evaluate the use of video in telephone triage contacts in OOH-PC, studying user rate, patient characteristics related to the use of video, and effectiveness of video use (i.e., triage outcome, frequency of follow-up).

Methods:

We will conduct a register-based study including all Danish residents contacting OOH-PC in the regions of Northern Denmark, Central Denmark, Southern Denmark, and Zealand from the 1st of January 2019 to the 31st of December 2021. We will use data from the OOH-PC electronic patient record registration system and linked data to several Danish national registers using residents' unique personal identification number. We investigated the following outcome measures: Proportion of video use Patient characteristics related to the use of video (i.e.: patient age, sex, ethnicity, marital status, co-morbidity, urbanization, income, educational level, and employment status) Triage outcome (no further care, referral to clinic consultation, home visit, or hospital admission) after use of video compared with no use of video. Frequency of follow-up contacts with daytime practice or OOH-PC <7 days or referral to hospital <1 day from the index contact after use of video compared with no use of video.

Results:

Data analyses will start in May 2022.

Conclusions:

A preliminary conclusion will be presented at the conference.