Evidence map›Paper›PMID 32076987›Full record

ArticleJournal of general internal medicine2020

Comparing Patients' Experiences with Electronic and Traditional Consultation: Results from a Multisite Survey.

Sara L Ackerman, Nathaniel Gleason, Scott A Shipman

Open access · bronzeAbstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Journal of general internal medicine, 2020. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 19 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
19citing papers in PubMed
7.6field-weighted citation impact, top 3% of its field
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

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.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

19 citing papers in PubMed, 45 citations in OpenAlex.

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  16. Delivering remote consultations: Talking the talk.Musculoskeletal science & practice · 2021
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4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

3 authors at 2 institutions in 1 country.

Sara L AckermanDepartment of Social and Behavioral Sciences, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, USA. sara.ackerman@ucsf.edu.
Nathaniel GleasonDivision of General Internal Medicine, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, USA.
Scott A ShipmanAssociation of American Medical Colleges, Washington, DC, USA.
University of California, San Francisco · USAssociation of American Medical Colleges · US

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundThere have been no large-scale studies to date of patients' experiences with electronic consultation (eConsult) between primary and specialty care.

objectiveCompare experiences with eConsult and referral for in-person specialist consultation.

designOnline survey 2-6 weeks following eConsult or referral at 9 US academic medical centers.

participantsAdult patients with no more than one eConsult or referral order from a primary care provider (PCP) in the prior month. Over 9 months, 29,291 email invitations were sent (88% referral; 12% eConsult). MAIN MEASURES: Trust in and satisfaction with PCP; consult type awareness; agreement with decision to seek specialist input; timeliness of care; mode of PCP-patient eConsult communication; satisfaction with specialist's recommendations; future preference for eConsult or referral. KEY

resultsA 27.6% response rate yielded 8087 respondents (88.4% referral; 11.6% eConsult). Many did not know that their PCP had placed a referral (32.8% unaware) or eConsult (52.9%), and eConsult awareness was significantly higher among patients reporting better health (OR 1.62, 95% CI 1.18-2.23). Most (81.4% eConsult; 82.0% referral) were satisfied with the specialist's recommendations. Those who had a good primary care experience were more likely to be satisfied (eConsult: OR 10.63, 95% CI 2.95-38.32; referral: OR 2.87, 95% CI 1.86-4.44). For a similar problem in the future, 78% of eConsult and 32% percent of referral patients preferred eConsult.

conclusionsThis multisite study demonstrates that many patients find virtual consultation to be an acceptable strategy for the management of their medical condition and that trust and confidence in one's PCP are crucial ingredients for a satisfying eConsult experience. The lack of awareness of eConsult among many patients who were beneficiaries of the service warrants an increased effort to include patients in eConsult decision-making and communication. Further research is needed to assess eConsult acceptability and satisfaction in more diverse patient populations.

Indexed as

Referral and ConsultationRemote ConsultationAcademic Medical CentersAdultElectronicsHealth Services AccessibilityHumansPrimary Health CareSurveys and Questionnairesaccess to careeConsultpatient preferencespatient satisfactionprimary carespecialty caretelemedicine

Identifiers

PMID32076987
PMCPMC7174441
OpenAlexW3008231020

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.