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Marco-Ibáñez A, Aguilar-Palacio I, Aibar C. Does virtual consultation between primary and specialised care improve healthcare quality? A scoping review of healthcare quality domains assessment. BMJ Open Qual 2023; 12:e002388. [PMID: 37832971 PMCID: PMC10582872 DOI: 10.1136/bmjoq-2023-002388] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/20/2023] [Accepted: 09/25/2023] [Indexed: 10/15/2023] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Virtual consultation has been proposed as a promising tool to improve the coordination and quality of healthcare between primary and specialised care. However, despite its potential facilitators, the evidence on the usefulness of virtual consultation for improving healthcare quality domains is fragmented and unclear. This scoping review aims to assess the impact of virtual consultation on different healthcare quality domains. MATERIAL AND METHODS We conducted a scoping review with a rigorous search strategy on PubMed, EMBASE and Cochrane Library databases. The inclusion criteria were original articles, reviews, meta-analyses or letters to the editor, published between 1 January 2017 and 24 June 2022, and available in English, Spanish or French. For each of the articles selected, we identified the addressed healthcare quality domains, their facilitators and barriers, areas of improvement and data gaps. We have adhered to Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses for Scoping Review reporting standards. RESULTS 1284 manuscripts were retrieved. Finally, 235 papers were included in this review, most of which were original, descriptive studies. The most evaluated quality domain was effectiveness (223 articles). Safety and patient-centred care were the least evaluated. Simultaneous assessment of more than one domain was observed in 117 papers, being effectiveness and timeliness the most frequent combination. Our analysis revealed that virtual consultation is in development and underused. This tool has the potential to improve access to specialised care and enhance coordination between professionals. CONCLUSIONS Virtual consultation has the potential to provide effective, efficient, equitable and timely attention. However, its contribution to safety and patient-centered care needs further evaluation. Our review emphasises the need for more rigorous research and standardised quality assessment criteria to obtain robust evidence on the usefulness of virtual consultation for improving healthcare quality domains.
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Affiliation(s)
- Almudena Marco-Ibáñez
- Primary Health Physician, Aragon Health Service, Zaragoza, Spain
- Health Services Research Group (GRISSA), Aragon Health Research Institute, Zaragoza, Spain
| | - Isabel Aguilar-Palacio
- Health Services Research Group (GRISSA), Aragon Health Research Institute, Zaragoza, Spain
- Preventive Medicine and Public Health, University of Zaragoza, Zaragoza, Spain
| | - Carlos Aibar
- Health Services Research Group (GRISSA), Aragon Health Research Institute, Zaragoza, Spain
- Preventive Medicine and Public Health, Hospital Clinico Universitario Lozano Blesa, Zaragoza, Spain
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Aboelkhir HAB, Elomri A, ElMekkawy TY, Kerbache L, Elakkad MS, Al-Ansari A, Aboumarzouk OM, El Omri A. A Bibliometric Analysis and Visualization of Decision Support Systems for Healthcare Referral Strategies. INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF ENVIRONMENTAL RESEARCH AND PUBLIC HEALTH 2022; 19:16952. [PMID: 36554837 PMCID: PMC9778793 DOI: 10.3390/ijerph192416952] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/06/2022] [Revised: 10/24/2022] [Accepted: 11/14/2022] [Indexed: 06/17/2023]
Abstract
BACKGROUND The referral process is an important research focus because of the potential consequences of delays, especially for patients with serious medical conditions that need immediate care, such as those with metastatic cancer. Thus, a systematic literature review of recent and influential manuscripts is critical to understanding the current methods and future directions in order to improve the referral process. METHODS A hybrid bibliometric-structured review was conducted using both quantitative and qualitative methodologies. Searches were conducted of three databases, Web of Science, Scopus, and PubMed, in addition to the references from the eligible papers. The papers were considered to be eligible if they were relevant English articles or reviews that were published from January 2010 to June 2021. The searches were conducted using three groups of keywords, and bibliometric analysis was performed, followed by content analysis. RESULTS A total of 163 papers that were published in impactful journals between January 2010 and June 2021 were selected. These papers were then reviewed, analyzed, and categorized as follows: descriptive analysis (n = 77), cause and effect (n = 12), interventions (n = 50), and quality management (n = 24). Six future research directions were identified. CONCLUSIONS Minimal attention was given to the study of the primary referral of blood cancer cases versus those with solid cancer types, which is a gap that future studies should address. More research is needed in order to optimize the referral process, specifically for suspected hematological cancer patients.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Adel Elomri
- College of Science and Engineering, Hamad Bin Khalifa University, Doha 34110, Qatar
| | - Tarek Y. ElMekkawy
- Department of Mechanical and Industrial Engineering, College of Engineering, Qatar University, Doha 2713, Qatar
| | - Laoucine Kerbache
- College of Science and Engineering, Hamad Bin Khalifa University, Doha 34110, Qatar
| | - Mohamed S. Elakkad
- Surgical Research Section, Department of Surgery, Hamad Medical Corporation, Doha 3050, Qatar
| | - Abdulla Al-Ansari
- Surgical Research Section, Department of Surgery, Hamad Medical Corporation, Doha 3050, Qatar
| | - Omar M. Aboumarzouk
- Surgical Research Section, Department of Surgery, Hamad Medical Corporation, Doha 3050, Qatar
- College of Medicine, QU-Health, Qatar University, Doha 2713, Qatar
- School of Medicine, Dentistry and Nursing, The University of Glasgow, Glasgow G12 8QQ, UK
| | - Abdelfatteh El Omri
- Surgical Research Section, Department of Surgery, Hamad Medical Corporation, Doha 3050, Qatar
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Virtanen L, Kaihlanen AM, Laukka E, Gluschkoff K, Heponiemi T. Behavior change techniques to promote healthcare professionals' eHealth competency: A systematic review of interventions. Int J Med Inform 2021; 149:104432. [PMID: 33684712 DOI: 10.1016/j.ijmedinf.2021.104432] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/07/2020] [Revised: 02/18/2021] [Accepted: 02/21/2021] [Indexed: 10/22/2022]
Abstract
INTRODUCTION The use of eHealth is rapidly -->increasing; however, many healthcare professionals have insufficient eHealth competency. Consequently, interventions addressing eHealth competency might be useful in fostering the effective use of eHealth. OBJECTIVE Our systematic review aimed to identify and evaluate the behavior change techniques applied in interventions to promote healthcare professionals' eHealth competency. METHODS We conducted a systematic literature review following the Joanna Briggs Institute's Manual for Evidence Synthesis. Published quantitative studies were identified through screening PubMed, Embase, and CINAHL. Two reviewers independently performed full-text and quality assessment. Eligible interventions were targeted to any healthcare professional and aimed at promoting eHealth capability or motivation. We synthesized the interventions narratively using the Behavior Change Technique Taxonomy v1 and the COM-B model. RESULTS This review included 32 studies reporting 34 heterogeneous interventions that incorporated 29 different behavior change techniques. The interventions were most likely to improve the capability to use eHealth and less likely to enhance motivation toward using eHealth. The promising techniques to promote both capability and motivation were action planning and participatory approach. Information about colleagues' approval, emotional social support, monitoring emotions, restructuring or adding objects to the environment, and credible source are techniques worth further investigation. CONCLUSIONS We found that interventions tended to focus on promoting capability, although motivation would be as crucial for competent eHealth performance. Our findings indicated that empathy, encouragement, and user-centered changes in the work environment could improve eHealth competency as a whole. Evidence-based techniques should be favored in the development of interventions, and further intervention research should focus on nurses and multifaceted competency required for using different eHealth systems and devices.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lotta Virtanen
- Finnish Institute for Health and Welfare, Helsinki, Finland.
| | | | - Elina Laukka
- Finnish Institute for Health and Welfare, Helsinki, Finland; Research Unit of Nursing Science and Health Management, University of Oulu, Oulu, Finland
| | - Kia Gluschkoff
- Finnish Institute for Health and Welfare, Helsinki, Finland; Department of Psychology and Logopedics, University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland
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Eskeland SL, Rueegg CS, Brunborg C, Aabakken L, de Lange T. Electronic checklists improve referral letters in gastroenterology: a randomized vignette survey. Int J Qual Health Care 2018; 30:450-456. [PMID: 29635304 PMCID: PMC6047431 DOI: 10.1093/intqhc/mzy057] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/23/2016] [Accepted: 03/16/2018] [Indexed: 12/15/2022] Open
Abstract
Objective Investigate whether gastroenterologists rate the quality of referral letters higher if electronic dynamic checklist items are added to a standard free-text referral letter. Assess how this affects the gastroenterologists’ assessment of the patient’s need for healthcare and the agreement between their assessments. Design Randomized vignette study. Setting Norwegian primary gastroenterology services. Participants Thirty-two Norwegian gastroenterologists. Intervention Between June 2015 and January 2016, participants were recruited through an open invitation to all members of the Norwegian Society of Gastroenterology. They were asked to rate 16 referral letters (vignettes) in a web interface: eight letters in free text following a general template and eight letters based on a general referral template combined with diagnosis-specific checklist items. The study was completed in two subsequent rounds ≥3 months apart. Main Outcome Measures Quality of referral letters assessed on a rating scale from 0 to 10. Agreement in the referral assessment and accuracy of the selection of correct preliminary diagnosis and appropriate work-up. Results The mean quality assesses on the rating scale was 7.0 (95% confidence interval [CI] 6.8–7.2) for all letters combined (n = 511), 6.5(CI 6.2–6.8) for the free-text referrals (n = 256) and 7.5(CI 7.3–7.7) for the checklist referrals (n = 255) (P < 0.001, paired t-test). No difference was observed in the triage of the patients, but fewer gastroenterologists felt the need to collect additional information about the patients in the checklist group. Conclusion Checklist items may ease the assessment of the referrals for gastroenterologists. We were not able to show that checklists significantly influence the management of patients.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sigrun Losada Eskeland
- Department of Medical Research, Bærum Hospital, Vestre Viken Hospital Trust, PO Box 800, Drammen, Norway.,Institute of Clinical Medicine, University of Oslo, PO Box 1171 Blindern, Oslo, Norway
| | - Corina Silvia Rueegg
- Oslo Centre for Biostatistics and Epidemiology, Department of Biostatistics, University of Oslo, PO Box 1122 Blindern, Oslo, Norway
| | - Cathrine Brunborg
- Oslo Centre for Biostatistics and Epidemiology, Department of Biostatistics, University of Oslo, PO Box 1122 Blindern, Oslo, Norway
| | - Lars Aabakken
- Institute of Clinical Medicine, University of Oslo, PO Box 1171 Blindern, Oslo, Norway.,Section of GI Endoscopy, Department of Transplantation Medicine, Division of Surgery, Inflammatory Medicine and Transplantation, Oslo University Hospital Rikshospitalet, PO Box 4950 Nydalen, Oslo, Norway
| | - Thomas de Lange
- Institute of Clinical Medicine, University of Oslo, PO Box 1171 Blindern, Oslo, Norway.,Department of Medicine, Bærum Hospital, Vestre Viken Hospital Trust, Drammen, Norway.,Department of Bowel Cancer Screening, Cancer Registry of Norway, Majorstuen, Oslo, Norway
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Improving quality of referral letters from primary to secondary care: a literature review and discussion paper. Prim Health Care Res Dev 2017; 19:211-222. [PMID: 29212565 DOI: 10.1017/s1463423617000755] [Citation(s) in RCA: 21] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/30/2022] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Referral letters sent from primary to secondary or tertiary care are a crucial element in the continuity of patient information transfer. Internationally, the need for improvement in this area has been recognised. This aim of this study is to review the current literature pertaining to interventions that are designed to improve referral letter quality. METHODS A search strategy designed following a Problem, Intervention, Comparator, Outcome model was used to explore the PubMed and EMBASE databases for relevant literature. Inclusion and exclusion criteria were established and bibliographies were screened for relevant resources. RESULTS A total of 18 publications were included in this study. Four types of interventions were described: electronic referrals were shown to have several advantages over paper referrals but were also found to impose new barriers; peer feedback increases letter quality and can decrease 'inappropriate referrals' by up to 50%; templates increase documentation and awareness of risk factors; mixed interventions combining different intervention types provide tangible improvements in content and appropriateness. CONCLUSION Several methodological considerations were identified in the studies reviewed but our analysis demonstrates that a combination of interventions, introduced as part of a joint package and involving peer feedback can improve.
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