Effectiveness of an ambulatory care telephone service in reducing drop-in visits and improving satisfaction with care.
The purpose of this research was to determine whether a specialized telephone service could cut down on unscheduled visits to ambulatory care and improve satisfaction with care. Patients who were to receive care (N = 561) were assigned randomly to a specialized telephone service or a control group. They were measured with regard to satisfaction with care before being assigned and 6 months later. The number of scheduled and unscheduled visits also were monitored for a 1-year follow-up period. The telephone service, which provided a triage system for referrals as well as a source of central contact for scheduling or for complaints, helped to improve satisfaction and reduce the number of unscheduled visits within 6 months. Such a service also may have application in other problem areas in the delivery of quality ambulatory care.
D000553:Ambulatory Care / Q000592:standards / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D001071:Appointments and Schedules; D003258:Consumer Behavior; D005260:Female; D005431:Florida; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011446:Prospective Studies; D011787:Quality of Health Care; D012959:Socioeconomic Factors; D013689:Telephone / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*