The Effect of Telehealth Ontario on Non-urgent Emergency Department Use at The Hospital for Sick Children

Launched by THE HOSPITAL FOR SICK CHILDREN · Feb 19, 2008

Keywords

ClinConnect Summary

Some studies have shown that certain telephone nursing advice lines are effective in reducing non-urgent emergency department use. However, to my knowledge, no study has investigated the efficacy of Telehealth Ontario in particular. There are important differences between Telehealth Ontario and other phone lines that have been evaluated, in terms of the method in which calls are handled, the diversity of the population served, and the place of the phone-in line within the health care system. These studies, the results of which cannot be extrapolated directly to Telehealth Ontario, should no...

Gender

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Eligibility criteria

• Inclusion Criteria:
• • All children presenting to the ED between 0600 and 2400 during the study period
• Exclusion Criteria:
• • 1. Children arriving without an adult, as consent could not be obtained.
• • 2. Children with whose parents communication was not possible in English, as it was not possible to provide translation services for this study.
• • 3. Children arriving by direct transfer from another hospital.
• • 4. Children arriving by ambulance summoned by someone other than the parent or guardian.
• • 5. Children arriving at the ED for a pre-arranged visit/appointment.
• • 6. Children requiring immediate resuscitation.