911 Nurse Triage Line

Not Applicable

Completed

• Conditions: Emergencies
• Interventions: Behavioral: No triage nurse; Behavioral: Triage nurse

• Registration Number: NCT05589168
• Lead Sponsor: The Lab @ DC

Brief Summary

Each year, millions of Americans call 911 for time-sensitive issues that don't require Emergency Medical Services (EMS). In need of medical help, these callers may treat 911 as an entry point into the healthcare system, yet an ambulance to the emergency department can harm both their own long-term health and the health of others. In a field experiment in Washington, DC, the investigators randomly assign nurses directly into 911 calls in order to triage low-acuity calls. While other 911 reforms have denied callers access to alternative resources, this effort reforms 911 by offering appropriate care.

Detailed Description

Not available

Study Timeline

• Study Start: 2018-04-19
• Primary Completion: 2019-03-01
• Study Completion: 2019-03-01
• Status Verified: 2022-10
• Study First Submitted: 2022-10-04
• Study First Submitted QC: 2022-10-18
• Last Update Submitted: 2022-10-18
• Study First Posted: 2022-10-21
• Last Update Posted: 2022-10-21

Recruitment & Eligibility

• Status: COMPLETED
• Sex: All
• Target Recruitment: 6053

Inclusion Criteria

• Low-acuity call

Exclusion Criteria

• Incarcerated

Study & Design

• Study Type: INTERVENTIONAL
• Study Design: PARALLEL

Arm && Interventions

Group	Intervention	Description
No Triage Nurse	No triage nurse	No triage nurse
Triage Nurse	Triage nurse	Triage nurse

Primary Outcome Measures

Name	Time	Method
Ambulance dispatch	During or immediately subsequent to call	Ambulance is dispatched in response to the 911 call
ED visit, 24 hours	24 hours	Emergency department visit within 24 hours
Primary care visit, 6 months	6 months	Primary care visit within 6 months
Ambulance transport	During or immediately subsequent to call	Caller is transported in dispatched ambulance
ED visit, 6 months	6 months	Emergency department visit with 6 months
911 use, 6 months	6 months	Whether caller made subsequent calls to 911 within 6 months
Health expenditures	6 months	Total dollars and log-transformed dollars of Medicaid health expenditures
911 use, 24 hours	24 hours	Whether caller made subsequent calls to 911 within 24 hours
Primary care visit, 24 hours	24 hours	Primary care visit within 24 hours

Trial Locations

Locations (1)

Office of Unified Communications; 🇺🇸 Washington, District of Columbia, United States