scholarly journals Quantifying disruption of workflow by phone calls to the neuroradiology reading room

2019 ◽  
Vol 8 (3) ◽  
pp. e000442
Author(s):  
Shyam Sabat ◽  
Paul Kalapos ◽  
Einat Slonimsky
Keyword(s):  
Working Hours ◽  
Phone Call ◽  
Common Source ◽  
Reading Room ◽  
Start Time ◽  
Phone Calls ◽  
Entire Duration ◽  
Average Total Number ◽  
Telephone Calls ◽  
Working Day

IntroductionThe purpose of this study was to understand the source and the reason for the phone calls to our neuroradiology suit and to quantify the size of the problem in terms of duration of individual and aggregated calls.Materials and methodsObservation of the neuroradiology reading room for the entire duration of the working hours over three non-consecutive days was performed, and included telephone calls start time, end time and calls duration for incoming telephone calls. After each phone call the recipients were queried on the details of the phone call; the origin of the call, the reason for the call and the response.ResultsThe average total number of minutes (min) spent on the phone each day was 64 min per working day with a total of 39 phone calls per day and 4.4 per hour on average. The trainees answered 71% of the phone calls with additional intervention by attending in 13% of phone calls. The most common source of phone calls was from either the MRI/CT technicians (48%), followed by providers (20%) and returning pages (18%).ConclusionCumulative time spent on the phone by neuroradiologists in the reading room ended up in more than an hour per working day, while trainees were taking the majority of phone calls. Most phone calls originated from technicians, hence, requiring specific solutions to mitigate this kind of interruption.

Same setting, different norms: Phone call beginnings in France and the United States

1977 ◽  
Vol 6 (2) ◽  
pp. 209-219 ◽  
Author(s):  
Daniele Godard
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Native Speakers ◽  
The United States ◽  
Phone Call ◽  
Physical Conditions ◽  
Speech Event ◽  
Phone Calls ◽  
Telephone Calls

AbstractFrench native speakers' reactions to phone calls in the United States are an indication of a difference in the norms of interaction between the two countries. This difference, in turn, is understood when one realizes that the phone call, constituting a speech event, is open to different cultural interpretations, in spite of a similarity in the physical conditions of the interaction between the caller and the answerer. (Sequencing conventional opening; cultural variability; telephone calls; France and United States.)

Post-Hospital Syndrome (PHS) and Potentially Preventable Hospitalizations(PPH) in Adults. MonashWatch adult cohort patient telehealth journeys (Preprint)

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Associate Professor Martin ◽  
Narelle Hinckley ◽  
Keith Stockman ◽  
Donadl Campbell
Keyword(s):  
Adverse Outcomes ◽  
Phone Call ◽  
Post Discharge ◽  
Patient Journey ◽  
Preventable Hospitalizations ◽  
Acute Admission ◽  
Avoidable Hospitalizations ◽  
Self Rated Health ◽  
Phone Calls ◽  
Potentially Preventable Hospitalizations

BACKGROUND Monash Watch (MW) aims to reduce avoidable hospitalizations in a cohort above a risk ‘threshold’ identified by HealthLinks Chronic Care (HLCC) algorithms using personal, diagnostic, and service data, excluding surgical and psychiatric admissions. MW conducted regular patient monitoring through outbound phone calls using the Patient Journey Record System (PaJR). PaJR alerts are intended to act as a self-reported barometer of health perceptions with more alerts per call indicating greater risk of Potentially Preventable Hospitalizations (PPH) and Post Hospital Syndrome (PHS). Most knowledge of PPH and PHS occurs at a macro-level with little understanding of fine-grained dynamics. OBJECTIVE To describe patterns of self-reported concerns and self-rated health 10 days before and after acute hospital admission in the telehealth intervention cohort of MonashWatch in the context of addressing PPH and PHS. METHODS Participants: 173 who had an acute admission of the of the 232 HLCC cohort with predicted 3+ admissions/year, in MW service arm for >40 days. Measures: Self-reported health and health care status in 764 MW phone call records which were classified into Total Alerts (all concerns - self-reported) and Red Alerts (concerns judged to be higher risk of adverse outcomes/admissions -acute medical and illness symptoms). Acute (non-surgical) admissions from Victorian Admitted Episode database. Analysis: Descriptive Timeseries homogeneity metrics using XLSTAT. RESULTS Self-reported problems (Total Alerts) statistically shifted to a higher level 3 days before an acute admission and stayed at a high level for the 10 days post discharge; reported acute medical and illness symptoms (Red Alerts) increased 1 day prior to admission and but remained at a higher level than before admission. Symptoms of concern did not change before admission or after discharge. Self-rated health and feeling depressed were reported to worsen 5 days post discharge. Patients reported more medication changes up to 2 days before acute admission. CONCLUSIONS These descriptive findings in a cohort of high risk individuals suggest a prehospital phase of what is termed PHS, which persisted on discharge and possibly worsened 5 days after discharge with worse self-rated health and depressive symptoms. Further research is needed. The role and place of community and hospital in such a cohort needs further investigation and research into PPH and PHS.

Patient Education and Sacubitril/Valsartan: A Randomized Comparative Trial

2021 ◽  
pp. 001857872199980
Author(s):  
Christopher Giuliano ◽  
Bradley St. Pierre ◽  
Jamie George
Keyword(s):  
Controlled Trial ◽  
Comparative Trial ◽  
Text Messages ◽  
Phone Call ◽  
Secondary Outcome ◽  
Short Term ◽  
Phone Calls ◽  
Video Education ◽  
Pharmacist Education

Objective: To compare video to pharmacist education for patients taking sacubitril/valsartan. Methods: We conducted a randomized controlled trial comparing video to pharmacist education with a second randomized intervention of education delivered through text or phone call at 14 days. The primary outcome compared the change in short term knowledge between groups and the secondary outcome was long term knowledge at 1 month. Results: Forty-three patients were included. Scores improved significantly ( P < .05) in the pharmacist group from 54.1% to 85.9% and from 64.3% to 86.1% in the video education group, although there was no difference between groups (31.8% vs 22.9%, P = .13). At 30 days, scores were significantly higher than baseline (difference 16.5%, P < .05) although did decrease from the posttest (difference 7.4%, P < .05). There was no difference at 30 days between those that received text messages versus phone calls (−10% vs −5.5%, respectively; P = .36). Conclusion: We saw improvements in both short term and long term knowledge for patients receiving education through pharmacist or video education. Neither approach was more effective than the other. Clinicians can use either approach based on patient preference.

Performance of a new guideline for telephone triage in out-of-hours services in Belgium: A pilot study using simulated patients

2020 ◽  
Vol 33 (4) ◽  
pp. 166-171
Author(s):  
Stefan Morreel ◽  
Hilde Philips ◽  
Annelies Colliers ◽  
Veronique Verhoeven
Keyword(s):  
General Practitioner ◽  
Primary Objective ◽  
Phone Call ◽  
Simulated Patients ◽  
Telephone Triage ◽  
Out Of Hours ◽  
Important Variation ◽  
Phone Calls ◽  
The Right ◽  
Urgency Level

Background Patients in Belgium needing out-of-hours care have two options: the emergency department or the general practitioner on call often organised in a general practitioner cooperative. Currently, there is no triage system in Belgium so patients do not know where to go. Methods Our primary objective was to examine the ability of a newly developed telephone guideline, called 1733, to adequately estimate the urgency of health problems presented by simulated patients. Ten clinical vignettes were presented to 12 operators in a simulated phone call. The operators had to assign a protocol, urgency level and resource to dispatch (ambulance, general practitioner house visit, etc.) to each case. Results A total of 120 phone calls were analysed. The operators chose the right protocol in 69% and the correct urgency level in 35% of the cases. The proportion of under- and over-triage was 26% and 39%, respectively. There was important variation in between the operators. The sensitivity for detecting highly urgent cases was 0.42, the specificity 0.92. Conclusion Using the new Belgian 1733 guideline for telephone triage, operators mostly chose the appropriate protocol but only chose the correct urgency in one out of three cases. In this phase of development, the studied telephone guideline is not ready for implementation.

Perceptions of time at work

2016 ◽  
Vol 45 (1) ◽  
pp. 29-50 ◽  
Author(s):  
Aristides Isidoro Ferreira ◽  
Joana Diniz Esteves
Keyword(s):  
Gender Differences ◽  
Design Methodology ◽  
Internet Use ◽  
The Internet ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Future Studies ◽  
Work Related ◽  
Phone Calls ◽  
Working Day ◽  
The Relationship

Purpose – Activities such as making personal phone calls, surfing on the internet, booking personal appointments or chatting with colleagues may or may not deviate attentions from work. With this in mind, the purpose of this paper is to examine gender differences and motivations behind personal activities employees do at work, as well as individuals’ perception of the time they spend doing these activities. Design/methodology/approach – Data were obtained from 35 individuals (M age=37.06 years; SD=7.80) from a Portuguese information technology company through an ethnographic method including a five-day non-participant direct observation (n=175 observations) and a questionnaire with open-ended questions. Findings – Results revealed that during a five-working-day period of eight hours per day, individuals spent around 58 minutes doing personal activities. During this time, individuals engaged mainly in socializing through conversation, internet use, smoking and taking coffee breaks. Results revealed that employees did not perceive the time they spent on non-work realted activities accurately, as the values of these perceptions were lower than the actual time. Moreover, through HLM, the findings showed that the time spent on conversation and internet use was moderated by the relationship between gender and the leisure vs home-related motivations associated with each personal activity developed at work. Originality/value – This study contributes to the literature on human resource management because it reveals how employees often perceive the time they spend on non-work related activities performed at work inaccurately. This study highlights the importance of including individual motivations when studying gender differences and personal activities performed at work. The current research discusses implications for practitioners and outlines suggestions for future studies.

Abstract T MP103: Effect of Follow-up Phone Calls on 30-day Readmission Rates for Stroke Patients

Stroke ◽  
2015 ◽  
Vol 46 (suppl_1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Kelly Anderson
Keyword(s):  
Intervention Group ◽  
Signs And Symptoms ◽  
Lifestyle Changes ◽  
Phone Call ◽  
Control Group ◽  
Readmission Rates ◽  
Convenience Sample ◽  
Phone Calls ◽  
Number Of Patients

Background and Purpose: Patients who are hospitalized for a stroke or TIA go home with a great deal of information about risk factors, medications, diet and exercise, signs and symptoms of stroke and follow-up care. This information may be difficult for the patient or caregiver to understand and can be overwhelming in the face of a new life-changing event. In addition, The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services will start publicly reporting 30-day readmission rates beginning in 2016. The purpose of this study is to determine if follow-up phone calls with a nurse help to reduce 30 day readmission rates for patients with stroke and TIA. Methods: This study utilized a convenience sample of adult patients who were admitted for ischemic stroke, ICH, SAH or TIA from March 2013 to February 2014. Patients in the intervention group participated in a phone call seven days after discharge to assess their compliance with medications, physician appointments and lifestyle changes. The proportion of readmissions between the groups was compared with Fisher’s exact test. Results: The total number of patients enrolled in the study was 586 and there were no significant differences in demographics between the control and intervention groups. Of the 533 patients in the control group, 54 (10%) of them were readmitted, including 11 patients readmitted for elective surgical procedures. Of the 52 patients in the intervention group, 3 (5.7%) of them were readmitted before the 7-day phone call. Of the 49 patients who participated in the 7-day phone call, none of them were readmitted ( p =0.0098). Conclusions: Patients who participate in a 7-day phone call appear to benefit and are less likely to be readmitted to the hospital. Other strategies may need to be considered for patients who are at higher risk, and thus more likely to be readmitted within seven days of discharge. In addition, some providers may wish to reconsider how they schedule elective procedures for secondary stroke prevention.

scholarly journals Impact of Pharmacy Student–Driven Postdischarge Telephone Calls on Heart Failure Hospital Readmission Rates: A Pilot Program

2018 ◽  
Vol 54 (2) ◽  
pp. 100-104 ◽  
Author(s):  
Roda Plakogiannis ◽  
Ana Mola ◽  
Shreya Sinha ◽  
Abraham Stefanidis ◽  
Hannah Oh ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Heart Failure ◽  
Hospital Discharge ◽  
Hospital Readmission ◽  
Pharmacy Students ◽  
Pharmacy Student ◽  
Pilot Program ◽  
Readmission Rates ◽  
Phone Calls ◽  
Hospital Readmission Rates ◽  
Telephone Calls

Background: Heart failure (HF) hospitalization rates have remained high in the past 10 years. Numerous studies have shown significant improvement in HF readmission rates when pharmacists or pharmacy residents conduct postdischarge telephone calls. Objective: The purpose of this retrospective review of a pilot program was to evaluate the impact of pharmacy student–driven postdischarge phone calls on 30- and 90-day hospital readmission rates in patients recently discharged with HF. Methods: A retrospective manual chart review was conducted for all patients who received a telephone call from the pharmacy students. The primary endpoint compared historical readmissions, 30 and 90 days prior to hospital discharge, with 30 and 90 days post discharge readmissions. For the secondary endpoints, historical and postdischarge 30-day and 90-day readmission rates were compared for patients with a primary diagnosis of HF and for patients with a secondary diagnosis of HF. Descriptive statistics were calculated in the form of means and standard deviations for continuous variables and frequencies and percentages for categorical variables. Results: Statistically significant decrease was observed for both the 30-day ( P = .006) and 90-day ( P = .007) readmission periods. Prior to the pharmacy students’ phone calls, the overall group of 131 patients had historical readmission rates of 24.43% within 30 days and 38.17% within 90 days after hospital discharge. After the postdischarge phone calls, the readmission rates decreased to 11.45%, for 30 days, and 22.90%, for 90 days. Conclusion: Postdischarge phone calls, specifically made by pharmacy students, demonstrated a positive impact on reducing HF-associated hospital readmissions, adding to the growing body of evidence of different methods of pharmacy interventions and highlighting the clinical impact pharmacy students may have in transition of care services.

After-Hours Telephone Coverage: The Application of an Area-Wide Telephone Triage and Advice System for Pediatric Practices

PEDIATRICS ◽  
1993 ◽  
Vol 92 (5) ◽  
pp. 670-679 ◽  
Author(s):  
Steven R. Poole ◽  
Barton D. Schmitt ◽  
Thea Carruth ◽  
Ann Peterson-Smith ◽  
Minnie Slusarski
Keyword(s):  
Home Care ◽  
Patient Care ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Time Of Day ◽  
Physician Satisfaction ◽  
Telephone Triage ◽  
Total Cost ◽  
Phone Calls ◽  
After Hours ◽  
Telephone Calls

Background. After-hours telephone calls are a stressful and frustrating aspect of pediatric practice. At the request of private practice pediatricians in Denver, a metropolitan area-wide system was created to manage after-hours pediatric telephone calls and after-hours patient care. This system, the After-Hours Program (AHP), uses specially trained pediatric nurses with standardized protocols to provide after-hours telephone triage and advice for the patients of 92 Denver pediatricians, representing 56 practices. Objectives. This report describes the AHP, presents data from 4 years' experience with the program, and describes results of our evaluation of the following aspects of the program: subscribing physician satisfaction, parent satisfaction, the accuracy and appropriateness of telephone triage, and program costs. Methods. After-Hours Program records (including quality assurance data) for all 4 years of operation were retrospectively reviewed, tabulated, and analyzed. The results of two subscribing physician surveys and one parent caller satisfaction survey are presented. A retrospective review of after-hours patient care encounter forms assessed the necessity for after-hours visits triaged by the AHP. An analysis of the total cost of this program to 10 randomly selected subscribing physicians was conducted using current AHP data and a survey of the 10 physicians. Results. In 4 years, 107 938 calls have been successfully managed without an adverse clinical outcome. Minor errors in using protocols occurred in one call out of 1450 after-hours calls. After-hours phone calls necessitated an after-hours patient visit 20% of the time and generated one after-hours hospital admission out of every 88 calls. Just over half of the patients were managed with home care advice only, and 28% were given home care advice after-hours and seen the next day in the primary physician's office. Of all patients directed by the telephone triage nurses to be seen after hours, 78% were determined to have a condition necessitating after-hours care. Data are presented regarding call volumes by time of day, day of week, patient age, and patient's initial complaint. The 6 most common complaints accounted for more than one half of the calls, and 38 complaints accounted for more than 95% of all after-hours calls. Utilization by subscribing physicians is described. Satisfaction among subscribing pediatricians was 100%, and among parents was 96% to 99% on a variety of issues. The total cost to participating Denver pediatricians (which includes revenues "given up" as a result of not seeing patients after hours) ranged from 1% to 12% of their annual net income, depending on a variety of factors. Conclusions. Large-scale after-hours telephone coverage systems can be effective and well-received by patients, parents, and primary physicians. Data presented in this report can assist in planning the training of personnel who provide after-hours telephone advice and triage. Controversies associated with this type of program are discussed. Suggestions are made regarding the direction of future programs and research.

Implementing Digital Technology to Transitioning a Clinical Trial to a Registry – TAILOR-PCI Digital Study: Methods/Study Design (Preprint)

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Robert Avram ◽  
Derek So ◽  
Erin Iturriaga ◽  
Julia Byrne ◽  
Ryan Lennon ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Clinical Trial ◽  
The United States ◽  
Completion Rate ◽  
Phone Call ◽  
Consent Rate ◽  
Digital Platform ◽  
Phone Calls ◽  
Patient Reported ◽  
Research Platform

BACKGROUND TAILOR-PCI was the largest cardiovascular genotype-based randomized clinical trial (RCT) investigating whether CYP2C19 genotype-guided selection of oral P2Y12 inhibitor therapy improved ischemic outcomes after percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI). The TAILOR-PCI Digital Registry was a novel proof-of-concept study that evaluated the feasibility of extending the main RCT follow-up period using a remote digital platform. OBJECTIVE To describe patients onboarding, engagement and results of a digital registry after enrollment in a RCT. METHODS In this intervention study, previously enrolled TAILOR-PCI patients in the United States and Canada within 24 months of randomization were invited by letters containing a URL to the TAILOR-PCI Digital Registry website (http://tailorpci.eurekaplatform.org), instructing them to download the study app. Patients previously enrolled in the TAILOR-PCI study, with a smartphone, were eligible to join the Digital Registry. Those who did not respond to the letter were contacted by phone to survey reasons for non-participation and were invited again to join the study. A direct-to-patient digital research platform (the Eureka Research Platform) was used to onboard, consent and enrol patients in the Digital Registry. Patients were asked to complete health-related surveys and provide follow-up data digitally. Consent rate to the Digital Registry, duration of participation in the Digital Registry and monthly activity completion rate. The hypothesis being tested was formulated before data collection began. RESULTS After the parent trial was completed, letters were mailed to 907 eligible patients (representing 19% of total enrolled in the RCT) across 24 sites, who were within 15.6 ± 5.2 months after randomization leading to 290 unique individuals visits to the Digital Registry website. Among those invited, 110 patients (12%) consented: 45 (41%) after the letter, 37 (34%) after the 1st phone call and 28 (25%) after a 2nd call. Of the 862 who didn’t consent after the letter, 453 patients (53%) did not respond to repeated phone calls and among the 409 patients who responded, 171 (41%) declined participation stating lack of time, 128 (31%), due to lack of smartphone and 47 (11%) due to difficulty understanding what was expected of them in the study. Patients who consented were older, had less diabetes or tobacco use; a greater proportion had bachelor's degrees or higher and were more computer literate than those who did not consent. The average completion rate of the 920 available monthly electronic visits was 64.9±7.6% without a decrease in this rate throughout the study duration. There were no differences between randomization arms in any patient reported outcomes using the digital platform. CONCLUSIONS Extended follow-up after enrollment in a RCT using a digital registry is technically feasible but was limited due to inability to contact most eligible patients, lack of time or access to a smartphone. Among those enrolled, most patients completed required electronic visits. Enhanced recruitment methods, such as introduction of the digital study at the time of RCT consent, provision of smartphone and robust study support for onboarding, should be explored further. CLINICALTRIAL TAILOR-PCI (Clinicaltrials.gov: NCT01742117)

Abstract TP288: Overcoming Obstacles Making People Healthy (OOMPH): A Patient Centered Post Discharge Follow-up Program for Stroke Patients

Stroke ◽  
2017 ◽  
Vol 48 (suppl_1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Jonathan Muller ◽  
Barbara Gatton ◽  
Linda Fox ◽  
Joseph A Bove ◽  
Johanna Donovan Turner ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Support Groups ◽  
Medical Information ◽  
Patient Adherence ◽  
Hospital Readmissions ◽  
Phone Call ◽  
Stroke Patients ◽  
Post Discharge ◽  
Phone Calls ◽  
Stroke Support Groups

Background and Purpose: At least 12% of stroke patients are readmitted to a hospital within 30 days of discharge. We know that patients hospitalized for other conditions are less likely to be readmitted within 30 days if they are seen by their PCP shortly after discharge. However, less than a third of patients in the New York metropolitan area admitted for heart failure, heart attacks, and pneumonia see their PCP within 14 days after discharge and nearly 40% of patients do not adhere to their prescribed regimen. In the case of cerebrovascular diseases, outpatient follow-up may prevent the majority of avoidable readmissions. The purpose of this project is to identify and reduce unnecessary, unplanned hospital readmissions after stroke. Our goal is to encourage patient adherence to prescribed medication and other therapies, as well as to ensure timely follow-up with their PCP. Methods: Stroke and transient ischemic attack (TIA) patients with a disposition of either home or short-term rehabilitation are visited and offered enrollment. Participants are given a kit which includes a personalized binder (to manage essential medical information) and a 28-slot pill box. Each patient then receives 3 phone call interviews at 7, 21 and 32 days after discharge. The aim of the phone calls is to identify obstacles to compliance with treatment regimen and follow-up care. Results: From January 2015 to June 2016, 247 patients were enrolled and followed up. Within 30 days of discharge, 10% were readmitted and 50% of all readmissions occurred within the first 7 days. Of those readmitted, 19% were due to an injury from physical therapy. Data from follow-up phone calls revealed that 83% were taking all prescribed medications, 89% had completed a follow-up with any physician, 69% were using the binder, and 61% had done all three. Conclusions: While we have not enrolled enough patients to see a statistically significant reduction in readmissions, our interviews showed that weather, depression, as well as a lack of insurance, family support, and a home health aide are all determinants on how patients will follow their prescribed regimen. The results of this study have allowed us to begin implementing stroke support groups and pre-discharge follow-up appointment scheduling.

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