A clinical and economic review of telephone triage services and survey of Canadian call centre programs
Stacey D, Noorani H Z, Fisher A, Robinson D, Joyce J, Pong R W
Record ID 32004000867
English, French
Authors' objectives:
The aims of this review were: - To evaluate the effects of teletriage services on health service use, caller safety, satisfaction and health-related quality of life
- To examine the costs and cost-effectiveness of teletriage services
- To summarize the characteristics of Canadian teletriage programs and their evaluations.
Authors' recommendations:
About 50% of calls to teletriage services can be managed without having to refer the caller elsewhere.
Teletriage reduces the number of immediate visits to physicians without causing adverse outcomes such as subsequent hospitalizations, visits to the emergency departments or deaths.
Two studies one in the US and one in the UK show cost savings as a result of nurse teletriage services that are provided outside usual business hours.
Seven Canadian jurisdictions have province-wide teletriage programs (British Columbia, Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, Ontario, Quebec and New Brunswick) and the other six have identified a need.
The limited number of evaluations of teletriage programs in Canada show minimal evidence of their clinical impact (e.g. high caller satisfaction, decreased visits to emergency). The cost per call is estimated to be C$10 to C$27 depending on the program.
Authors' methods:
Systematic review
Details
Project Status:
Completed
URL for project:
https://www.ccohta.ca/
Year Published:
2004
English language abstract:
An English language summary is available
Publication Type:
Not Assigned
Country:
Canada
MeSH Terms
- Hotlines
- Remote Consultation
- Telephone
- Triage
Contact
Organisation Name:
Canadian Coordinating Office for Health Technology Assessment
Contact Address:
600-865 Carling Avenue, Ottawa, ON K1S 5S8 Canada. Tel: +1 613 226 2553, Fax: +1 613 226 5392;
Contact Name:
requests@cadth.ca
Contact Email:
requests@cadth.ca
Copyright:
Canadian Coordinating Office for Health Technology Assessment (CCOHTA)
This is a bibliographic record of a published health technology assessment from a member of INAHTA or other HTA producer. No evaluation of the quality of this assessment has been made for the HTA database.