ArticleScandinavian journal of primary health care2016
Telephone triage in general practices: A written case scenario study in the Netherlands.
Article in Scandinavian journal of primary health care, 2016. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 16 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
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Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
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Who cites it
16 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it.
- Patient-facing online triage tools and clinician decision-making: a systematic review.BMJ open · 2025Pooled it
- Identifying performance indicators to measure overall performance of telephone triage - a scoping review.Scandinavian journal of primary health care · 2024Article
- The feasibility of teleconsultations in unplanned primary care: an intervention study in Belgium, 2021.Archives of public health = Archives belges de sante publique · 2023Article
- Article
- Safety of Triage Self-assessment Using a Symptom Assessment App for Walk-in Patients in the Emergency Care Setting: Observational Prospective Cross-sectional Study.JMIR mHealth and uHealth · 2022Observational
- Co-location of out of hours primary care and emergency department in Belgium: patients' and physicians' view.BMC health services research · 2021Article
- The implementation of the nationwide out-of-hours phone number 1733 in Belgium: analysis of efficiency and safety.Primary health care research & development · 2021Article
- Reliability of Dutch Obstetric Telephone Triage.Risk management and healthcare policy · 2021Article
- Implementation of a Standardized Initial Assessment for Demand Management in Outpatient Emergency Care in Germany: Early Qualitative Process Evaluation.JMIR formative research · 2020Article
- Article
- Ability of the wider dental team to triage patients with acute conditions: a qualitative study.British dental journal · 2020Article
- Factors related to out-of-hours help-seeking for acute health problems: a survey study using case scenarios.BMC public health · 2019Article
- Article
- Article
- The use of a Swedish telephone medical advice service by the elderly - a population-based study.Scandinavian journal of primary health care · 2017Article
- Yonder: Rosacea, youth mental health, diagnosing arthritis, and telephone triage.The British journal of general practice : the journal of the Royal College of General Practitioners · 2016Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
4 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
objectiveGeneral practices increasingly use telephone triage to manage patient flows. During triage, the urgency of the call and required type of care are determined. This study examined the organization and adequacy of telephone triage in general practices in the Netherlands.
designCross-sectional observational study using a web-based survey among practice assistants including questions on background characteristics and triage organization. Furthermore, practice assistants were asked to assess the required type of care of written case scenarios with varying health problems and levels of urgency. To determine the adequacy of the assessments, a comparison with a reference standard was made. In addition, the association between background characteristics and triage organization and the adequacy of triage was examined.
settingDaytime general practices. SUBJECTS: Practice assistants.
main outcome measuresOver- and under-estimation, sensitivity, specificity.
resultsThe response rate was 41.1% (n = 973). The required care was assessed adequately in 63.6% of cases, was over-estimated in 19.3%, and under-estimated in 17.1%. The sensitivity of identifying patients with a highly urgent problem was 76.7% and the specificity was 94.0%. The adequacy of the assessments of the required care was higher for more experienced assistants and assistants with fixed daily work meetings with the GP. Triage training, use of a triage tool, and authorization of advice were not associated with adequacy of triage.
conclusionTriage by practice assistants in general practices is efficient (high specificity), but potentially unsafe in highly urgent cases (suboptimal sensitivity). It is important to train practice assistants in identifying highly urgent cases. KEY POINTS: General practices increasingly use telephone triage to manage patient flows, but little is known about the organization and adequacy of triage in daytime practices. Telephone triage by general practice assistants is efficient, but potentially unsafe in highly urgent cases. The adequacy of triage is higher for more experienced assistants and assistants with fixed daily work meetings with the general practitioner.
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