Digital Versus Telephone Symptom Assessment and Triage in Primary Care

NCT06092866 | Completed

• 1 other identifier: 2022-03883-01
• Study Type: interventional
• Target: 22
• Locations: 1 country
• Sites: 1

Brief Summary

A 'digital-first' approach is currently under implementation in several Swedish regions. The principles behind implementing an online service as an access way to primary care are based on an expectation that it can make access easier, direct people to appropriate levels of care, and increase both availability of heath care and cost efficiency. However, a recent Swedish report concluded that digital triage in primary care has not been investigated in a clinical real-world setting, including real patients, meaning that the benefits and risks for patients as well as on a system level remain unclear. The aim of this trial is to study the feasibility of a larger trial that will compare digital triage and traditional telephone triage on adherence to triaged health care level, in a randomized controlled study (feasibility study, RCT). The study will recruit a total of 120 patients, of which half will be randomized to telephone triage and half to digital triage.

Conditions

Infections; Injuries; Skin Diseases; Psychiatric Disorder; Gastro-Intestinal Disorder

Keywords

triage; primary care; digital; remote; health care consumption

Outcome Measures

Primary Outcomes (3)

• Recruitment rate as percentage of patients included in the study measured using data from the primary health care center

  Percentage of patients that accept to be included in the study of all patients that contact the primary care center during the studied period of time

  6 months

• Drop-out rate as percentage of patients that drop-out from the trial

  Percentage of patients that drop-out from the trial

  6 months

• Eligibility criteria in percentage of patients being eligible to be included in the study

  Age 18 years or older and listed on the primary care center

  6 months

Secondary Outcomes (2)

• Adherence to recommended health care level as percentage of patients that adhere to recommended care level

  2 months

• Interrater reliability

  2 months

Study Arms (2)

Digital triage

EXPERIMENTAL

Patients are triaged with symptom assessment by a nurse using a digital platform. They are receiving either advice for self-care, referred to other care-level or booked to a digital or physical visit on the primary health care center.

Behavioral: Digital triage

Telephone triage

ACTIVE COMPARATOR

Patients are triaged with symptom assessment by a nurse using tradition telephone. They are receiving either advice for self-care, referred to other care-level or booked to a digital or physical visit on the primary health care center.

Behavioral: Digital triage

Interventions

Digital triage BEHAVIORAL

A registered nurse assesses the symptoms reported by the patient on the online platform and gives appropriate advice for further care using chat.

Also known as: Symptom assessment

Digital triage; Telephone triage

Eligibility Criteria

• Age: 18 Years+
• Sex: all
• Healthy Volunteers: Yes
• Age Groups: Adult (18-64), Older Adult (65+)

You may qualify if:

• Age 18 years or older who is listed at the health center

You may not qualify if:

• Patients \<18 years or parents seeking advice for their children
• Cannot communicate in Swedish or other communication difficulties in language or writing
• Patients without a mobile Bank identification (to log in to the platform)
• Administrative issues, e.g. rebooking of time

Sponsors & Collaborators

• Region Skane: lead

Study Sites (1)

Veronica Milos Nymberg

Malmö, Region Skane, 20502, Sweden

Location

MeSH Terms

Conditions

Infections; Wounds and Injuries; Mental Disorders; Digestive System Diseases; Skin Diseases

Condition Hierarchy (Ancestors)

Skin and Connective Tissue Diseases

Study Officials

• Veronica V Milos Nymberg, PhD

  Lund University

  PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR

Study Design

• Study Type: interventional
• Phase: not applicable
• Allocation: RANDOMIZED
• Masking: NONE
• Purpose: HEALTH SERVICES RESEARCH
• Intervention Model: PARALLEL
• Sponsor Type: OTHER
• Responsible Party: PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR
• PI Title: Associate professor

Model Details: Randomization 1:1

Study Record Dates

• First Submitted: August 10, 2023
• First Posted: October 23, 2023
• Study Start: October 24, 2023
• Primary Completion: December 31, 2025
• Study Completion: March 31, 2026
• Last Updated: May 1, 2026

Record last verified: 2026-04

Locations

SE (1)