Publication:
DETELPROG Study. Effectiveness of a New Model of Scheduled Telephone Referral from Primary Care to Internal Medicine. A Randomised Controlled Study.

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Date

2019-05-13

Authors

Azogil-Lopez, Luis Miguel
Perez-Lazaro, Juan Jose
Medrano-Sanchez, Esther María
Gomez-Salgado, Juan
Coronado-Vazquez, Valle

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MDPI AG
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Abstract

In Spain, the average waiting time for a specialist consultation is 58 days. A determinant factor that contributes to this situation is the poor communication between primary care and specialised care, which is mainly due to the waiting days for a consultation, number of avoided/avoidable face-to-face referrals, and waiting days for the resolution of the process. DETELPROG is a referral system in which the family physician requests a scheduled outpatient internal medicine consultation, integrated into the usual consultations agenda of both physicians, the family, and the outpatient clinic physician, in order to have a telephone consultation. A randomized controlled clinical trial has been carried out to assess the effectiveness of DELTELPROG. In a sample of 255 patients, the experimental group was referred via a scheduled telephone call, and those in the control group, by face-to-face hospital consultation area. The results showed statistically significant differences between both groups of 27 days (95% confidence interval (CI): 20-33) regarding specialised consultation, 47 days (95% CI: 17-74) as for the resolution of the process, and 91.7% for avoided face-to-face consultations. The DETELPROG resulted as a low coverage system (53%), which makes it a complementary referral model. It is necessary to make an in-depth analysis of the causes that have led to this technologically low coverage.

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MeSH Terms

Humans
Referral and Consultation
Outpatients
Physicians, Family
Control Groups
Spain
Confidence Intervals
Waiting Lists
Telephone
Internal Medicine
Ambulatory Care Facilities
Hospitals
Communication

DeCS Terms

Comunicación
Derivación y consulta
España
Grupos control
Hospitales
Instituciones de atención ambulatoria
Intervalos de confianza
Listas de espera
Medicina interna
Médicos de familia
Pacientes ambulatorios
Teléfono

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Keywords

curbside consultation, eConsult, patient safety, primary health care, quality of health care, referral, telemedicine, waiting list, Área de Gestión Sanitaria Norte de Huelva

Citation

Azogil-López LM, Pérez-Lázaro JJ, Medrano-Sánchez EM, Gómez-Salgado J, Coronado-Vázquez V. DETELPROG Study. Effectiveness of a New Model of Scheduled Telephone Referral from Primary Care to Internal Medicine. A Randomised Controlled Study. J Clin Med. 2019 May 16;8(5):688.