Impact of Revised Phone Triage System on Clinician Callback Rate and Call Resolution Time in an Ophthalmology Resident-Run Urgent Care Clinic

Abstract

Purpose : To evaluate the impact of a revised phone triage system on clinician callback rate and call resolution time in an ophthalmology resident-run urgent care clinic.

Methods : The Penn State College of Medicine Institutional Review Board deemed this study exempt from review. The data intake form utilized by staff answering patient phone calls into the Penn State Eye Center urgent care clinic was revised to include more detailed information regarding patients’ symptoms, and staff training regarding each item on the form was provided by a senior ophthalmology resident. Proportion of calls that required clinician callback to clarify patient concerns and median time for call resolution were compared between patient phone calls immediately prior to (n=360) and immediately following (n=360) implementation of the revised phone triage system.

Results : Proportion of calls that required clinician callback to clarify patient concerns was 55% prior to and 36% following implementation of the revised phone triage system (p<0.001), and median call resolution time decreased from 174 to 136 minutes (p=0.435).

Conclusions : Implementation of a revised phone triage system, including staff training and a more detailed data intake form, was associated with a significant decrease in the proportion of patient calls that required clinician callback to gather additional information and a substantial decrease in median call resolution time.

This is a 2021 ARVO Annual Meeting abstract.