BACKGROUND: In some European countries telephone triage (TT) during out-of-hours primary care showed to be safe and effective. Other countries, such as Belgium, may not have trained auxiliary personnel while their national health services want to establish TT. OBJECTIVES: To compare urgency levels assessed by secretaries and general practitioners in one general practice cooperative in Belgium. METHODS: Percentage of correct-, under-, and over-triage were calculated in total and per reason for encounter. Inter-rater agreement was investigated. RESULTS: The secretaries correctly triaged (same urgency level) 77% of the telephone calls, under-triaged 10% and over-triaged 13%.'Shortness of breath', 'skin cuts', 'chest pain', 'feeling unwell' and 'syncope' were often under-triaged. CONCLUSION: Before introducing TT, auxiliary staff should be trained and protocols should be used.
BACKGROUND: In some European countries telephone triage (TT) during out-of-hours primary care showed to be safe and effective. Other countries, such as Belgium, may not have trained auxiliary personnel while their national health services want to establish TT. OBJECTIVES: To compare urgency levels assessed by secretaries and general practitioners in one general practice cooperative in Belgium. METHODS: Percentage of correct-, under-, and over-triage were calculated in total and per reason for encounter. Inter-rater agreement was investigated. RESULTS: The secretaries correctly triaged (same urgency level) 77% of the telephone calls, under-triaged 10% and over-triaged 13%.'Shortness of breath', 'skin cuts', 'chest pain', 'feeling unwell' and 'syncope' were often under-triaged. CONCLUSION: Before introducing TT, auxiliary staff should be trained and protocols should be used.
Entities:
Keywords:
After hours care; Family practice; General practitioners; Patient safety; Triage
Authors: Linda Huibers; Grete Moth; Anders H Carlsen; Morten B Christensen; Peter Vedsted Journal: Br J Gen Pract Date: 2016-07-18 Impact factor: 5.386
Authors: Zalika Klemenc-Ketis; Matjaz Maletic; Vesna Stropnik; Ellen Tveter Deilkås; Dag Hofoss; Gunnar Tschudi Bondevik Journal: BMC Health Serv Res Date: 2017-01-13 Impact factor: 2.655
Authors: D S Graversen; M B Christensen; A F Pedersen; A H Carlsen; F Bro; H C Christensen; C H Vestergaard; L Huibers Journal: BMC Fam Pract Date: 2020-05-09 Impact factor: 2.497
Authors: D S Graversen; A F Pedersen; A H Carlsen; F Bro; L Huibers; M B Christensen Journal: Scand J Prim Health Care Date: 2019-01-28 Impact factor: 2.581