Electronic Referral and Booking of Outpatient Day Case Surgery Compared With Traditional Referral Routines.

Not Applicable

Completed

• Conditions: Health Care Surveys; Referral and Consultation; Surgery, Day; Medical Records Systems, Computerized; Telemedicine; Surgery, Outpatient; Health Services Research
• Interventions: Behavioral: one stop (Electronic standardised referrals and appointment bookings)

• Registration Number: NCT00692497
• Lead Sponsor: University Hospital of North Norway

Brief Summary

We want in this study to investigate the cost-effectiveness and waiting time of direct electronic referral and booking of outpatient surgery compared to the traditional patient pathway where the patient is seen at the outpatient clinic prior to surgery.

Detailed Description

Waiting time from referral to day case outpatient surgery is unacceptable long. In Norway it is as much as 48 weeks for common conditions like gallstones, inguinal hernia and sinus pilonidalis. Electronic standardised referrals sent by the Norwegian Healthcare Network, and booking of surgery by the general practitioner might be a way to reduce the waiting time and increase the cost effectiveness of outpatient surgery.

The trial is designated as a randomized controlled trial were selected patients (inguinal hernia, gall stone disease and sinus pilonoidalis) referred to the university hospital, were either randomized to direct electronic referral and booking for outpatient surgery (one stop), or using the traditional patient pathway where all patients are seen at the outpatient clinic several weeks before surgery.

Study Timeline

• Study First Submitted: 2008-06-04
• Study First Submitted QC: 2008-06-05
• Study First Posted: 2008-06-06
• Study Start: 2010-10
• Primary Completion: 2012-06
• Study Completion: 2012-12
• Status Verified: 2016-01
• Last Update Submitted: 2016-01-26
• Last Update Posted: 2016-01-27

Recruitment & Eligibility

• Status: COMPLETED
• Sex: All
• Target Recruitment: 120

Inclusion Criteria

• Patients were eligible if they were diagnosed by their GP for an inguinal hernia, sinus pilonidalis or gallstone disease which require surgical treatment.

Exclusion Criteria

• Patients with medical conditions making them unfit for outpatient surgery admitted to the surgical department prior to surgery are not eligible

Study & Design

• Study Type: INTERVENTIONAL
• Study Design: PARALLEL

Arm && Interventions

Group	Intervention	Description
1	one stop (Electronic standardised referrals and appointment bookings)	The one stop strategy is a set of interventions directed at GPs referring to the University Hospital. The interventions include: Guidelines for referral, standardised electronic referrals, booking for outpatient surgery and a patient information form.

Primary Outcome Measures

Name	Time	Method
waiting time	one year

Secondary Outcome Measures

Name	Time	Method
cost effectiveness	one year

Trial Locations

Locations (1)

Norwegian Centre of Telemedicine; 🇳🇴 Tromsø, Norway