Cost-Effectiveness of a New Outpatient Pulmonology Care Model Based on Physician-to-Physician Electronic Consultation
Introduction. This study assesses the impact of an electronic physician-to-physician consultation program on the waiting list and the costs of a Pulmonology Unit. Materials and Methods. A prepost intervention study was conducted after a new ambulatory pulmonary care protocol was implemented and the...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Wiley
2022-01-01
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| Series: | Canadian Respiratory Journal |
| Online Access: | http://dx.doi.org/10.1155/2022/2423272 |
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| author | José Manuel Álvarez-Dobaño Malena Toubes José Ángel Novo-Platas Francisco Reyes-Santías Gerardo Atienza Manuel Portela Carlos Rábade Tamara Lourido Ana Casal Carlota Rodríguez-García Vanessa Riveiro Romina Abelleira Jorge Ricoy Nuria Rodríguez-Núñez Carlos Zamarrón Felipe Calle Francisco Gude Luis Valdés |
| author_facet | José Manuel Álvarez-Dobaño Malena Toubes José Ángel Novo-Platas Francisco Reyes-Santías Gerardo Atienza Manuel Portela Carlos Rábade Tamara Lourido Ana Casal Carlota Rodríguez-García Vanessa Riveiro Romina Abelleira Jorge Ricoy Nuria Rodríguez-Núñez Carlos Zamarrón Felipe Calle Francisco Gude Luis Valdés |
| author_sort | José Manuel Álvarez-Dobaño |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Introduction. This study assesses the impact of an electronic physician-to-physician consultation program on the waiting list and the costs of a Pulmonology Unit. Materials and Methods. A prepost intervention study was conducted after a new ambulatory pulmonary care protocol was implemented and the capacity of the unit was adopted. In the new model, physicians at all levels of healthcare send electronic consultations to specialists. Results. In the preintervention year (2019), the Unit of Pulmonology attended 7,055 consultations (466 e-consultations and 6,589 first face-to-face visits), which decreased to 6,157 (3,934 e-consultations and 2,223 first face-to-face visits; 12.7% reduction) in the postintervention year (all were e-consultations). The mean wait time for the first appointment was 25.7 days in 2019 versus 3.2 days in 2021 (p<0.001). In total, 43.5% of cases were solved via physician-to-physiciane-consultation. A total of 2,223 patients needed a face-to-face visit, with a mean wait time of 7.5 days. The mean of patients in the waiting listing decreased from 450.8 in 2019 to 44.8 in 2021 (90% reduction). The annual time devoted to e-consultations and first face-to-face visits following an e-consultation diminished significantly after the intervention (1,724 hours versus 2,312.8; 25.4% reduction). Each query solved via e-consultation represented a saving of €652.8, resulting in a total annual saving of €827,062. Conclusions. Physician-to-physiciane-consultations reduce waiting times, improve access of complex patients to specialty care, and ensure that cases are managed at the appropriate level. E-consultation reduces costs, which benefits both, society and the healthcare system. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-72c3dfd8fdb44eb1b38b41dede5f2982 |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 1916-7245 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2022-01-01 |
| publisher | Wiley |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Canadian Respiratory Journal |
| spelling | doaj-art-72c3dfd8fdb44eb1b38b41dede5f29822025-02-03T06:08:44ZengWileyCanadian Respiratory Journal1916-72452022-01-01202210.1155/2022/2423272Cost-Effectiveness of a New Outpatient Pulmonology Care Model Based on Physician-to-Physician Electronic ConsultationJosé Manuel Álvarez-Dobaño0Malena Toubes1José Ángel Novo-Platas2Francisco Reyes-Santías3Gerardo Atienza4Manuel Portela5Carlos Rábade6Tamara Lourido7Ana Casal8Carlota Rodríguez-García9Vanessa Riveiro10Romina Abelleira11Jorge Ricoy12Nuria Rodríguez-Núñez13Carlos Zamarrón14Felipe Calle15Francisco Gude16Luis Valdés17Servicio de NeumologíaServicio de NeumologíaServicio de Control de GestiónComplejo Hospitalario Universitario de SantiagoUnidad de Calidad y Seguridad del PacienteSubdirección de Prestación Farmacéutica Formación Docencia Innovación e InvestigaciónServicio de NeumologíaServicio de NeumologíaServicio de NeumologíaServicio de NeumologíaServicio de NeumologíaServicio de NeumologíaServicio de NeumologíaServicio de NeumologíaServicio de NeumologíaSubdirección de Processos Asistenciales Sin IngressoUnidad de Epidemiología ClínicaServicio de NeumologíaIntroduction. This study assesses the impact of an electronic physician-to-physician consultation program on the waiting list and the costs of a Pulmonology Unit. Materials and Methods. A prepost intervention study was conducted after a new ambulatory pulmonary care protocol was implemented and the capacity of the unit was adopted. In the new model, physicians at all levels of healthcare send electronic consultations to specialists. Results. In the preintervention year (2019), the Unit of Pulmonology attended 7,055 consultations (466 e-consultations and 6,589 first face-to-face visits), which decreased to 6,157 (3,934 e-consultations and 2,223 first face-to-face visits; 12.7% reduction) in the postintervention year (all were e-consultations). The mean wait time for the first appointment was 25.7 days in 2019 versus 3.2 days in 2021 (p<0.001). In total, 43.5% of cases were solved via physician-to-physiciane-consultation. A total of 2,223 patients needed a face-to-face visit, with a mean wait time of 7.5 days. The mean of patients in the waiting listing decreased from 450.8 in 2019 to 44.8 in 2021 (90% reduction). The annual time devoted to e-consultations and first face-to-face visits following an e-consultation diminished significantly after the intervention (1,724 hours versus 2,312.8; 25.4% reduction). Each query solved via e-consultation represented a saving of €652.8, resulting in a total annual saving of €827,062. Conclusions. Physician-to-physiciane-consultations reduce waiting times, improve access of complex patients to specialty care, and ensure that cases are managed at the appropriate level. E-consultation reduces costs, which benefits both, society and the healthcare system.http://dx.doi.org/10.1155/2022/2423272 |
| spellingShingle | José Manuel Álvarez-Dobaño Malena Toubes José Ángel Novo-Platas Francisco Reyes-Santías Gerardo Atienza Manuel Portela Carlos Rábade Tamara Lourido Ana Casal Carlota Rodríguez-García Vanessa Riveiro Romina Abelleira Jorge Ricoy Nuria Rodríguez-Núñez Carlos Zamarrón Felipe Calle Francisco Gude Luis Valdés Cost-Effectiveness of a New Outpatient Pulmonology Care Model Based on Physician-to-Physician Electronic Consultation Canadian Respiratory Journal |
| title | Cost-Effectiveness of a New Outpatient Pulmonology Care Model Based on Physician-to-Physician Electronic Consultation |
| title_full | Cost-Effectiveness of a New Outpatient Pulmonology Care Model Based on Physician-to-Physician Electronic Consultation |
| title_fullStr | Cost-Effectiveness of a New Outpatient Pulmonology Care Model Based on Physician-to-Physician Electronic Consultation |
| title_full_unstemmed | Cost-Effectiveness of a New Outpatient Pulmonology Care Model Based on Physician-to-Physician Electronic Consultation |
| title_short | Cost-Effectiveness of a New Outpatient Pulmonology Care Model Based on Physician-to-Physician Electronic Consultation |
| title_sort | cost effectiveness of a new outpatient pulmonology care model based on physician to physician electronic consultation |
| url | http://dx.doi.org/10.1155/2022/2423272 |
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