The Use of Smartphone-Based Triage to Reduce the Rate of Outpatient Error Registration: Cross-Sectional Study

Abstract

BackgroundIn many clinics, patients now have the option to make Web-based appointments but doing so according to their own judgment may lead to wrong registration and delayed medical services. We hypothesized that smartphone-based triage in outpatient services is superior to Web-based self-appointment registration guided by the medical staff.ObjectiveThis study aimed to investigate smartphone-based triage in outpatient services compared with Web-based self-appointment registration and to provide a reference for improving outpatient care under appointment registration.MethodsThe following parameters in Guangzhou Women and Children’s Medical Center were analyzed: wrong registration rate, the degree of patient satisfaction, outpatient visits 6 months before and after smartphone-based triage, queries after smartphone-based triage, number of successful registrations, inquiry content, and top 10 recommended diseases and top 10 recommended departments after queries.ResultsSmartphone-based triage showed significant effects on average daily queries, which accounted for 16.15% (1956/12,112) to 29.46% (3643/12,366) of daily outpatient visits. The average daily successful registration after queries accounted for 56.14% (1101/1961) to 60.92% (1437/2359) of daily queries and 9.33% (1130/12,112) to 16.83% (2081/12,366) of daily outpatient visits. The wrong registration rate after smartphone-based triage was reduced from 0.68% (12,810/1,895,829) to 0.12% (2379/2,017,921) (P<.001), and the degree of patient satisfaction was improved. Monthly outpatient visits were increased by 0.98% (3192/325,710) to 13.09% (42,939/328,032) compared with the same period the preceding year (P=.02).ConclusionsSmartphone-based triage significantly reduces the wrong registration rate caused by patient Web-based appointment registration and improves the degree of patient satisfaction. Thus, it is worth promoting.

The Sociodemographic Digital Divide in Mobile Health App Use Among Clients at Outpatient Departments in Inner Mongolia, China: Cross-sectional Survey Study

“…The Chinese government has tried to implement reforms to reduce waiting times and improve health care and patient satisfaction, including the use of mHealth [ 27 - 29 ]. In 2015, the Chinese government issued an action plan requiring at least 50% of appointments to be online for visiting doctors in tertiary hospitals by the end of 2017 [ 30 ]. However, the adoption rate of mobile services for outpatients was low, accounting for only 31.5% in 2019 [ 31 ].…”

How to Improve the Management of Acute Ischemic Stroke by Modern Technologies, Artificial Intelligence, and New Treatment Methods

“…Patient registration errors can occur instantly for a limited time. QR code-based applications for patient ID information significantly reduce the wrong registration rate [45].…”

“…Smartphone-based triage significantly reduces the wrong registration of patients in hospital from 0.68% (12,810/1,895,829) to 0.12% (2379/2,017,921) (p < 0.001) [45].…”

Effects of a smartphone application named “Shared Decision Making Assistant” for informed patients with primary liver cancer in decision-making in China: a quasi-experimental study

“…Therefore, we speculated that decision aids could provide support in decision-making for informed PLC patients. With the development of information technology, it has been penetrating into many fields of the medical industry, such as appointment registration, drug management and patient self-monitoring [ 14 – 16 ]. Evidence shows that decision aids are effective for cancer patients through mobile applications (apps), for example, the decision aid software Lung Talk [ 17 ] promoted lung cancer screening, and other applications assist females in breast self-examination [ 18 ].…”