Use of a voice and video internet technology as an alternative to in-person urgent care clinic visits

This study aimed to determine the feasibility of patient-initiated online Internet urgent care visits, and to describe patient characteristics, scope of care, provider adherence to protocols, and diagnostic and therapeutic utilization. A total of 456 unique patients were seen via Internet-based technology during the study period, generating 478 consecutive total patient visits. Of the 82 patients referred for an in-person evaluation, 75 patients (91.5%) reported to the clinic as instructed. None of the 82 patients recommended for in-person evaluation required an emergency department referral, hospital admission or urgent consultative referral. We conclude that real-time online primary and urgent care visits are feasible, safe and potentially beneficial in increasing convenient access to urgent and primary care.

Source: Journal of Telemedicine and Telecare - June 3, 2015 Category: Information Technology Authors: Brunett, P. H., DiPiero, A., Flores, C., Choi, D., Kum, H., Girard, D. E. Tags: RESEARCH/Original Articles Source Type: research