The Priorities of End Users of Emergency Department Electronic Health Records: Modified Delphi Study.

BACKGROUND: The needs of the emergency department (ED) pose unique challenges to modern electronic health record (EHR) systems. A diverse case load of high-acuity, high-complexity presentations, and ambulatory patients, all requiring multiple transitions of care, creates a rich environment through which to critically examine EHRs. OBJECTIVE: This investigation aims to capture and analyze the perspective of end users of EHR about the strengths, limitations, and future priorities for EHR in the setting of the ED. METHODS: In the first phase of this investigation, a literature search was conducted to identify 5 key usage categories of ED EHRs. Using key usage categories in the first phase, a modified Delphi study was conducted with a group of 12 panelists with expertise in both emergency medicine and health informatics. Across 3 rounds of surveys, panelists generated and refined a list of strengths, limitations, and key priorities. RESULTS: The findings from this investigation highlighted the preference of panelists for features maximizing functionality of basic clinical features relative to features of disruptive innovation. CONCLUSIONS: By capturing the perspectives of end users in the ED, this investigation highlights areas for the improvement or development of future EHRs in acute care settings.

Demographic characteristics, outcomes and experience of patients using virtual urgent care services from 14 emergency department led sites in Ontario.

INTRODUCTION: As part of the COVID-19 pandemic response, the Ontario Ministry of Health funded a virtual care pilot program intended to support emergency department (ED) diversion of patients with low acuity complaints and reduce the need for face-to-face contact. The objective was to describe the demographic characteristics, outcomes and experience of patients using the provincial pilot program. METHODS: This was a prospective cohort study of patients using virtual care services provided by 14 ED-led pilot sites from December 2020 to September 2021. Patients who completed a virtual visit were invited by email to complete a standardized, 25-item online survey, which included questions related to satisfaction and patient-reported outcome measures. RESULTS: There were 22,278 virtual visits. When patients were asked why they contacted virtual urgent care, of the 82.7% patients who had a primary care provider, 31.0% said they could not make a timely appointment with their family physician. Rash, fever, abdominal pain, and COVID-19 vaccine queries represented 30% of the presenting complaints. Of 19,613 patients with a known disposition, 12,910 (65.8%) were discharged home and 3,179 (16.2%) were referred to the ED. Of the 2,177 survey responses, 94% rated their overall experience as 8/10 or greater. More than 80% said they had answers to all the questions they had related to their health concern, believed they were able to manage the issue, had a plan they could follow, and knew what to do if the issue got worse or came back. CONCLUSIONS: Many presenting complaints were low acuity, and most patients had a primary care provider, but timely access was not available. Future work should focus on health equity to ensure virtual care is accessible to underserved populations. We question if virtual urgent care can be safely and more economically provided by non-emergency physicians.

RéSUMé: INTRODUCTION: Dans le cadre de la réponse à la pandémie de COVID-19, le ministère de la Santé de l'Ontario a financé un programme pilote de soins virtuels visant à soutenir la réorientation vers les services d'urgence des patients présentant des problèmes de faible acuité et à réduire le besoin de contact en personne. L'objectif était de décrire les caractéristiques démographiques, les résultats et l'expérience des patients utilisant le programme pilote provincial. MéTHODES: Il s'agissait d'une étude de cohorte prospective de patients utilisant des services de soins virtuels fournis par 14 sites pilotes dirigés par des services d'urgence, de décembre 2020 à septembre 2021. Les patients qui ont effectué une visite virtuelle ont été invités par courriel à répondre à une enquête en ligne standardisée de 25 questions, qui comprenait des questions relatives à la satisfaction et aux résultats rapportés par les patients. RéSULTATS: Il y a eu 22 278 visites virtuelles. Lorsqu'on a demandé aux patients pourquoi ils avaient contacté les soins urgents virtuels, sur les 82,7 % de patients qui avaient un prestataire de soins primaires, 31,0 % ont répondu qu'ils n'avaient pas pu obtenir un rendez-vous en temps voulu avec leur médecin de famille. Les éruptions cutanées, la fièvre, les douleurs abdominales et les interrogations sur le vaccin COVID-19 représentaient 30 % des plaintes présentées. Sur les 19 613 patients dont la disposition était connue, 12 910 (65,8 %) ont été renvoyés chez eux et 3 179 (16,2 %) ont été orientés vers les urgences. Sur les 2 177 réponses à l'enquête, 94 % ont attribué une note de 8/10 ou plus à leur expérience globale. Plus de 80 % d'entre eux ont déclaré avoir obtenu des réponses à toutes les questions qu'ils se posaient sur leur problème de santé, se croire capables de le gérer, avoir un plan qu'ils pouvaient suivre et savoir quoi faire si le problème s'aggravait ou revenait. CONCLUSIONS: De nombreuses plaintes présentées étaient de faible acuité, et la plupart des patients avaient un fournisseur de soins primaires, mais l'accès en temps opportun n'était pas disponible. Les travaux futurs devraient se concentrer sur l'équité en matière de santé pour s'assurer que les soins virtuels sont accessibles aux populations mal desservies et nous nous demandons si ces services peuvent être fournis en toute sécurité et de manière plus économique par des médecins non urgentistes.

Designs, facilitators, barriers, and lessons learned during the implementation of emergency department led virtual urgent care programs in Ontario, Canada.

Introduction: Virtual patient care has seen incredible growth since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic. To provide greater access to safe and timely urgent care, in the fall of 2020, the Ministry of Health introduced a pilot program of 14 virtual urgent care (VUC) initiatives across the province of Ontario. The objective of this paper was to describe the overall design, facilitators, barriers, and lessons learned during the implementation of seven emergency department (ED) led VUC pilot programs in Ontario, Canada. Methods: We assembled an expert panel of 13 emergency medicine physicians and researchers with experience leading and implementing local VUC programs. Each VUC program lead was asked to describe their local pilot program, share common facilitators and barriers to adoption of VUC services, and summarize lessons learned for future VUC design and development. Results: Models of care interventions varied across VUC pilot programs related to triage, staffing, technology, and physician remuneration. Common facilitators included local champions to guide program delivery, provincial funding support, and multi-modal marketing and promotions. Common barriers included behaviour change strategies to support adoption of a new service, access to high-quality information technology to support new workflow models that consider privacy, risk, and legal perspectives, and standardized data collection which underpin overall objective impact assessments. Conclusions: These pilot programs were rapidly implemented to support safe access to care and ED diversion of patients with low acuity issues during the COVID-19 pandemic. The heterogeneity of program implementation respects local autonomy yet may present challenges for sustainability efforts and future funding considerations.

Incisionless otoplasty: a reliable and replicable technique for the correction of prominauris.

IMPORTANCE: This study evaluates the postoperative outcomes achieved with incisionless otoplasty for the correction of prominauris. OBJECTIVE: To determine whether incisionless otoplasty is a reliable and replicable technique in correcting prominauris. DESIGN, SETTING, AND PARTICIPANTS: This study consisted of a retrospective electronic medical record review for 72 patients undergoing incisionless otoplasty for the correction of prominauris by a single surgeon from November 2006 to April 2013. Follow-up ranged from 1 to 87 months. The patients were operated on at both St Joseph's Health Centre (a community hospital) and The Cumberland Clinic (private practice) in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. All patients undergoing an incisionless otoplasty for the correction of prominauris were eligible. Participants' ages ranged from 3 to 55 years, with the majority being adults. Seventy patients were followed up for outcomes. INTERVENTIONS: Incisionless otoplasty. MAIN OUTCOMES AND MEASURES: Number and type of sutures used, perioperative complications, and postoperative follow-up including complications and revisions. Complications included infection, hematoma, bleeding, perichondritis, suture granuloma, suture exposure, and suture failure. RESULTS: A mean (SD) 2.5 (0.8) sutures were used in the left ear, 2.48 (0.75) in the right ear, and 4.69 (1.75) in total. The number of sutures used in the left vs right ear was not significantly different (P = .60). All patients had horizontal mattress sutures placed for correction of prominauris. There were no serious perioperative complications such as infection, bleeding, hematoma, perichondritis, or cartilage necrosis. Follow-up data were extracted and analyzed in 70 patients, with a mean follow-up time of 31 months. Complications were seen in 10 patients (14%): 4 were due to suture failure, 3 were due to suture exposure, 2 were due to granuloma formation, and 1 was due to a Polysporin (bacitracin zinc/polymyxin B sulfate) reaction. Nine patients (13%) needed a revision to achieve a desirable result. CONCLUSIONS AND RELEVANCE: The technique of incisionless otoplasty used in this study was well tolerated and effective in both pediatric and adult patients, producing favorable outcomes with minimal complications. This procedure is less invasive than its open counterpart and seems at least equally effective in longevity.