Evaluation of the Effects of Teleconsultations on a Endocrinology Referral List

Not Applicable

Completed

• Conditions: Diabetes Mellitus; Hypothyroidism; Hyperthyroidism; Goiter; Thyroid Nodule; Obesity
• Interventions: Other: Teleconsultation; Other: Protocol

• Registration Number: NCT02710799
• Lead Sponsor: Hospital de Clinicas de Porto Alegre

Brief Summary

The aim of this study is evaluate the effects of telephone teleconsultations to primary care physicians (compared to the state's referral protocol) in the referrals waiting list for endocrinological appointments.

Detailed Description

Rio Grande do Sul state's referral list for endocrinology evaluation in specialized care is highly overloaded. There is currently a referral protocol to select patients how should be referred. It will be evaluated if a intervention of telephone-based teleconsultations provided by the TelessaúdeRS to the primary care physicians can provide additional benefits. TelessaúdeRS is a telehealth program from the University of Rio Grande do Sul. This will be evaluated in a cluster randomized clinical trial.

Study Timeline

• Study Start: 2015-06
• Study First Submitted: 2016-03-07
• Study First Submitted QC: 2016-03-11
• Study First Posted: 2016-03-17
• Primary Completion: 2016-06
• Study Completion: 2016-06
• Status Verified: 2016-08
• Last Update Submitted: 2016-08-08
• Last Update Posted: 2016-08-10

Recruitment & Eligibility

• Status: COMPLETED
• Sex: All
• Target Recruitment: 3470

Inclusion Criteria

• Patients from counties with at least 5 endocrinology referrals waiting appointment.
• Patients referred from primary care physicians
• Patients referred because one of the protocol conditions (Diabetes Mellitus, Hypothyroidism, Hyperthyroidism, Goiter, Thyroid nodule, Obesity).

Exclusion Criteria

• Patients from counties with more than one hundred endocrinology referrals waiting appointment.

Study & Design

• Study Type: INTERVENTIONAL
• Study Design: PARALLEL

Arm && Interventions

Group	Intervention	Description
Intervention	Teleconsultation	Referrals will be evaluated through the state's protocols associated with telephone-based teleconsultations.
Control	Protocol	Referrals will be evaluated through the state's protocols
Intervention	Protocol	Referrals will be evaluated through the state's protocols associated with telephone-based teleconsultations.

Primary Outcome Measures

Name	Time	Method
Number of consultations authorized	1 year	Number of consultations authorized after the evaluation by the control and intervention strategies.

Secondary Outcome Measures

Name	Time	Method
Adherence to the state's protocols	1 year	Number of new referrals for endocrinology with adequate informations according to the state's protocols.
Number of new referrals for endocrinology	1 year	Total number of new referrals performed by the county.
Usage of TelessaúdeRS teleconsultations	1 year	Total number of calls to TelessaúdeRS hotline (available to every primary care physician working in brazilian public health system)

Trial Locations

Locations (1)

Secretaria Estadual da Saúde; 🇧🇷 Porto Alegre, Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil