Going Beyond the 9-1-1 Call - What BC Emergency Health Services is Doing to Improve Timely Access to Emergency Care.

British Columbia Emergency Health Services (BCEHS) uses an internationally recognized Medical Priority Dispatch System to assign appropriate responses to 9-1-1 calls based on patients' clinical acuity. In 2015, 71% of Omega calls (classified as calls involving low acuity injuries) were assigned an ambulance. To better meet patients' needs, BCEHS collaborated with HealthLink BC's Nursing Services (HLBC NS) to audit over 2,000 calls. Based on the results, three Plan, Do, Study, Act (PDSA) cycles were implemented, yielding a 35% decrease in ambulances assigned and a 173% increase in referrals to HLBC NS to provide more suitable support. Ultimately, the interventions allowed these ambulances to be reallocated to more critical patients.

Medication-related calls received by a national telenursing triage and advice service in Australia: a retrospective cohort study.

BACKGROUND: Telenursing triage and advice services are increasingly being used to deliver health advice. Medication-related queries are common, however little research has explored the medication-related calls made to these services. The aim of this study was to examine the profile of medication-related calls to a national telenursing triage and advice service and the medications involved. METHODS: This was a retrospective cohort study of medication-related calls received by Australia's national helpline (healthdirect helpline) in 2014, which provides free advice from registered nurses. We examined the volume of medication-related calls over time, user profiles for patients and callers, and call characteristics and we also investigated medications involved in the calls by their generic names and therapeutic classes. RESULTS: Of 675,774 calls, 3.8% (n = 25,744) were medication-related, which was the largest category of calls. The average call length was 10 min. Over half of callers (55.4%) were advised to deliver self-care. Of 7,459 calls where the callers reported they did not know what to do prior to calling, 56.8% were advised to self-care and 3.5% were transferred to the Poisons Information Centre immediately. Of 1,277 calls where callers reported that they had originally intended to call an ambulance or attend an emergency department (ED), none were advised to do so. Advice most frequently requested was about analgesics and antipyretics, followed by non-steroidal anti-inflammatory agents. CONCLUSION: The telenursing triage and advice helpline offered quick and easily accessible advice, and provided reassurance to patients and callers with medication-related queries. The service also potentially diverted some patients from attending an ED unnecessarily.

Telenursing manual for providing care to patients using clean intermittent urinary catheterization / Manual de teleenfermería para la atención al usuario de cateterismo urinario intermitente limpio / Manual de telenfermagem para atendimento ao usuário de cateterismo urinário intermitente limpo

Objective: To develop and evaluate apparent and content validity of a telenursing manual to support nurses in the care delivery of patients using clean intermittent urinary catheterization. Methods: Methodological study addressing the development and validation of a telenursing manual. The expert group who validated the telenursing manual was composed of 11 nurses. An inter-rater level of agreement of 70% was considered for each aspect of the instrument. Results: The following levels of agreement were obtained for each aspect: Language 97%, Content 97.7% and Objectives, Relevance, Functionality and Usability 100% each. Conclusion: The manual is available for access and represents an important initiative for the field of telenursing in Brazil, assisting nurses in the telecare provided to patients using clean intermittent urinary catheterization.

Objetivo: Elaborar y validar la apariencia y el contenido de un manual de teleenfermería para apoyar al enfermero en la atención al cliente que usa catéter urinario intermitente limpio. Método: Estudio metodológico sobre la construcción y validación de manual de teleenfermería. La apariencia y el contenido del manual fueron validados por 11 enfermeros peritos, considerando para validación un nivel de concordancia del 70% entre los peritos para cada aspecto del instrumento utilizado. Resultados: El manual de teleenfermería fue validado en apariencia y contenido considerando el nivel de concordancia entre los peritos para cada uno de estos aspecto: Lenguaje 97%; Contenido 97,7%; y, Objetivos, Relevancia, Funcionalidad y Usabilidad 100% cada uno. Conclusiones: El manual está disponible para ser accedido y representa una iniciativa importante para el campo de la teleenfermería en Brasil, ayudando al enfermero en la práctica de la teleatención al usuario de cateterismo urinario intermitente limpio.

Objetivo: Elaborar e validar em aparência e conteúdo um manual de telenfermagem para subsidiar o enfermeiro no atendimento ao cliente com bexiga neurogênica, usuário de cateterismo urinário intermitente limpo. Método: Estudo metodológico sobre a construção e validação de manual de telenfermagem. O manual foi validado em aparência e conteúdo por 11 enfermeiros peritos; para tanto, considerou-se válido cada aspecto do instrumento que atingiu o nível mínimo de concordância de 70% entre os peritos. Resultados: O manual obteve, para cada aspecto avaliado, os seguintes níveis de concordância - Linguagem: 97%; Conteúdo: 97,7%; e Objetivos, Funcionalidade, Usabilidade e Relevância: 100% cada. Conclusão: O manual encontra-se disponível para acesso e representa uma iniciativa importante para o campo da telenfermagem no Brasil, auxiliando o enfermeiro na realização do teleatendimento e atendimento ao usuário de cateterismo urinário intermitente limpo.

Use of telehealth to treat and manage chronic viral hepatitis in regional Queensland.

For regional and rural Queenslanders, chronic viral hepatitis treatment is a major unmet health need, with restricted access to specialists outside of tertiary, largely metropolitan hospitals. To increase treatment of chronic viral hepatitis in regional Queensland, a team-based telehealth model was expanded. This expansion embedded an initial nursing consultation prior to specialist telehealth consultation. We conducted a retrospective audit of the introduction and expansion of hepatology telehealth services. Activity from July 2014-June 2015 (pre-expansion) was compared with July 2015- June 2016 (post-expansion). Interviews were conducted with key staff to determine factors contributing to success of the service and identify ongoing challenges to the service model. A greater than four-fold increase in clinical consultation was observed (131 telehealth consultations pre-expansion vs 572 post-expansion; p < 0.001). The failure to attend rate decreased (13.0% vs 6.5%, pre vs post-expansion respectively; p = 0.030), suggesting engagement with the service increased. Staff cited nurse-conducted primary assessment prior to specialist consultation and personalised patient treatment packs as key contributors to increased patient flow and engagement. This expanded team approach appears effective in delivering specialised treatment to an underserved area in regional Central Queensland. It may serve as a model to further expand telehealth management of chronic disease for regional Queenslanders.

Nursing Intervention using smartphone technologies; a systematic review and meta-analysis.

We reviewed mobile technology-based interventions in nursing and computed effect size of the interventions. We searched eight databases (KoreaMED, KMBASE, KISS, NDSL, Medline, EMBASE, Cochrane central library and CINAHL) using three sets of terms: mobile application, mobile app, mobile phone or smartphone; health or healthcare; and nursing. The study design, mobile technology, sample size and clinical outcomes were extracted from each study. A total of 38 studies were selected for review. Seven and six studies were used in meta-analyses for weight and fasting plasma glucose changes respectively. We found that mobile interventions used in nursing have different characteristics compared to those in other disciplines. We also found that mobile interventions in nursing led to significant improvement in weight and glucose control.

Malpractice claims regarding calls to Swedish telephone advice nursing: what went wrong and why?

We analysed the characteristics of all malpractice claims arising out of telephone calls to Swedish Healthcare Direct (SHD) during 2003-2010 (n = 33). The National Board of Health and Welfare's (NBHW) investigations describing the causes of the malpractice claims and the healthcare providers' reported measures were analysed using Qualitative Content Analysis. The original telephone calls themselves, which had been recorded, were analysed using the Roter Interaction Analysis System (RIAS). Among the 33 cases, 13 patients died and 12 were admitted to intensive care. Failure to listen to the caller (n = 12) was the most common reason for malpractice claims, and work-group discussion (n = 13) was the most common measure taken to prevent future re-occurrence. Male patients (n = 19) were in the majority, and females (n = 24) were the most common callers. The most common symptoms were abdominal (n = 11) and chest pain (n = 6). Telenurses followed up on caller understanding in six calls, and mainly used closed-ended questions. Despite the severity of these malpractice claims, the measures taken mainly addressed active failure, rather than the latent conditions. Third-party communication should be regarded as a risk. When callers make repeated contacts, telenurses need to re-evaluate their need for care.

Paediatric health calls to Swedish telenurses: a descriptive study of content and outcome.

We collected data about telephone triage calls concerning children in Sweden. A sample of 110 paediatric calls were recorded. The transcribed data were analysed regarding word count, reasons for calling, results of calls, ages and gender of children, and gender of parents. The median call length was 4.4 min and the median child's age was 3.5 years. Mothers made 73% of calls, but mothers and fathers called to the same extent about daughters and sons, and regardless of age. The most common reasons for calls were ear problems, rash/wound or fever. In nearly half the calls, the telenurses provided self-care advice. Call length, word count or caller's part of word count did not differ according to gender of parents or children. However, mothers were more likely to receive self-care advice while fathers were more often referred to other health services by the telenurses. Telenurses might need to improve their gender competence, and more male telenurses in the service would potentially be beneficial to callers.