Advancing Primary Care Access: Exploring the Impact of the Virtual Waiting Room on the Quadruple Aim.
J Gen Intern Med
; 39(12): 2343-2346, 2024 Sep.
Article
em En
| MEDLINE
| ID: mdl-38886322
ABSTRACT
BACKGROUND:
Community health centers grapple with high no-show rates, posing challenges to patient access and primary care provider (PCP) utilization.AIM:
To address these challenges, we implemented a virtual waiting room (VWR) program in April 2023 to enhance patient access and boost PCP utilization.SETTING:
Academic community health center in a small urban city in Massachusetts.PARTICIPANTS:
Community health patients (n = 8706) and PCP (n = 14). PROGRAM DESCRIPTION The VWR program, initiated in April 2023, involved nurse triage of same-day visit requests for telehealth appropriateness, then placing patients in a standby pool to fill in as a telehealth visit for no-shows or last-minute cancellations in PCP schedules. PROGRAM EVALUATION Post-implementation, clinic utilization rates between July and September improved from 75.2% in 2022 to 81.2% in 2023 (p < 0.01). PCP feedback was universally positive. Patients experienced a mean wait time of 1.9 h, offering a timely and convenient alternative to urgent care or the ER.DISCUSSION:
The VWR is aligned with the quadruple aim of improving patient experience, population health, cost-effectiveness, and PCP satisfaction through improving same-day access and improving PCP schedule utilization. This innovative and reproducible approach in outpatient offices utilizing telehealth holds the potential for enhancing timely access across various medical disciplines.Palavras-chave
Texto completo:
1
Coleções:
01-internacional
Base de dados:
MEDLINE
Assunto principal:
Atenção Primária à Saúde
/
Telemedicina
/
Acessibilidade aos Serviços de Saúde
Limite:
Adult
/
Aged
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Female
/
Humans
/
Male
/
Middle aged
País/Região como assunto:
America do norte
Idioma:
En
Revista:
J Gen Intern Med
Assunto da revista:
MEDICINA INTERNA
Ano de publicação:
2024
Tipo de documento:
Article
País de afiliação:
Estados Unidos
País de publicação:
Estados Unidos