Virtual outpatient clinic as an alternative to an actual clinic visit after surgical discharge: a randomised controlled trial
BackgroundIt is standard practice to review all patients following discharge at a follow-up clinic but demands on all health services outweigh resources and unnecessary review appointments may delay or deny access to patients with greater needs.AimsThis randomised trial aimed to establish whether a...
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Published in | BMJ quality & safety Vol. 28; no. 1; pp. 24 - 31 |
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Main Authors | , , , , , , , |
Format | Journal Article |
Language | English |
Published |
England
BMJ Publishing Group LTD
01.01.2019
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Subjects | |
Online Access | Get full text |
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Summary: | BackgroundIt is standard practice to review all patients following discharge at a follow-up clinic but demands on all health services outweigh resources and unnecessary review appointments may delay or deny access to patients with greater needs.AimsThis randomised trial aimed to establish whether a virtual outpatient clinic (VOPC) was an acceptable alternative to an actual outpatient clinic (OPC) attendance for a broad range of general surgical patients following a hospital admission.Patients and methodsAll patients admitted under one general surgical service over the study period were assessed. If eligible for inclusion the rationale, randomisation and follow-up methods were explained, consent was sought and patients randomised to receive either a VOPC or an OPC appointment.ResultsTwo-hundred and nine patients consented to study inclusion, of which 98/107 (91.6%) in the VOPC group and 83/102 (81.4%) in the OPC group were successfully contacted. Only 6 patients in the OPC group and 10 in the VOPC group reported ongoing issues. A further follow-up indicated 78 of 82 (95%) VOPC patients were very happy with their overall experience compared with 34/61 (56%) in the actual OPC group (p<0.001). A significant proportion of both cohorts—68/82 (83%) in VOPC group and 41/61 (67%) in OPC group (p = 0.029)—preferred a VOPC appointment as their future follow-up of choice.ConclusionsThe majority of patients discharged from a surgical service could be better followed up by a virtual clinic with a significant proportion of patients reporting a preference for and a greater satisfaction with such a service. |
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Bibliography: | ObjectType-Article-2 SourceType-Scholarly Journals-1 ObjectType-News-1 ObjectType-Feature-3 content type line 23 |
ISSN: | 2044-5415 2044-5423 |
DOI: | 10.1136/bmjqs-2018-008171 |