MedPath

Digital Versus Traditional Booking System for Clinical Appointments

Completed
Conditions
Health Informatics
Interventions
Other: Appointment booking system
Registration Number
NCT05270070
Lead Sponsor
Canadian Forces Health Services Centre Ottawa
Brief Summary

In the Canadian Forces Health Services Ottawa clinical administrative resources are currently constrained, directly impacting workflow and patient care. Given the nature of the current EMR and digital health infrastructure, DBS is not currently being employed. Therefore, investigators sought to determine the relative benefit of using an online booking system when compared to TB. To the investigator's knowledge, validation of this type has not been conducted in this setting.

Detailed Description

Introduction: The impact of digital booking systems (DBS) on clinical care, administrative efficiency and health care costs have not previously been explored in the Canadian Forces Health Services. No show rates were shown to be reduced by 6-42% percent compared to traditional booking (TB) depending on the system and the clinic. Therefore, investigators sought to determine the relative benefit of using an online booking system when compared to TB.

Methods: Main outcome variables included total time for booking all patients between groups including the start to end dates of each intervention, the number of hours spent on the phone / answering emails, and the number of phone calls and emails received, and the number of phone calls / emails regarding booking problems, cancellations, changes and no shows. Descriptive and mean comparative statistics will be used to determine any differences between groups.

Recruitment & Eligibility

Status
COMPLETED
Sex
All
Target Recruitment
61
Inclusion Criteria
  • Patients that have never been seen for new consultations
Exclusion Criteria
  • none

Study & Design

Study Type
OBSERVATIONAL
Study Design
Not specified
Arm && Interventions
GroupInterventionDescription
Digital BookingAppointment booking systemPatients bookings done through digital booking system.
Traditional BookingAppointment booking systemPatients bookings done through traditional booking like telephone or secure email.
Primary Outcome Measures
NameTimeMethod
Total time for booking all patients~3 months

total time taken for DB and TB patients to be booked in a clinic time slot

Secondary Outcome Measures
NameTimeMethod
Percent of Patients Booked~3 months

Percent of Patients Booked for each group

Average Time Spent per Patient~3 months

Average Time Spent per Patient

Trial Locations

Locations (1)

Canadian Forces Health Services Centre

🇨🇦

Ottawa, Ontario, Canada

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