8 questions to answer before investing in virtual triage
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Virtual triage is a digital healthcare technology that allows patients and members to assess their symptoms online at any time, from any device or location. It helps them understand the severity of their symptoms and guides them to the most appropriate level of care.
Health plans, public health systems, telemedicine companies, and providers implement virtual triage to increase patient engagement, offer out-of-hours services, and help patients and members navigate healthcare systems—ultimately making healthcare more efficient and streamlined. To learn more, read our guide to virtual triage, including features, applications, and challenges.
But what should healthcare decision-makers consider when choosing a virtual triage tool?
Let’s dive into these 8 questions!
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8 questions decision makers in healthcare organizations should ask themselves before investing in virtual triage. Infographic by Zuza Szostak.
At a glance:
Does the virtual triage capture pre-triage care intent?
Understanding patient intent before using virtual triage is crucial to recognizing how this tool is shaping the patient journey and adjusting patient care-seeking behavior. Without knowledge of which level of care the patient intended to seek prior to using the tool, you won’t be able to fully comprehend the impact virtual triage is having on patient behavior and overall healthcare efficiency.
Infermedica’s virtual triage collects patient intent when the patient begins the symptom checker survey. Patients can choose between emergency care, booking a physician appointment, or self-care etc. One study showed that before using our triage tool, 40% of patients did not know what level of care they planned to use. Significantly, in 74% of cases, the virtual triage recommended a different care path from the pre-triage intention.
Does the virtual triage reduce the number of patients uncertain of their care path?
A virtual triage engine acts as a guide to help patients navigate healthcare systems. It helps patients identify the severity of their symptoms and understand where and when they should seek care. After using a virtual triage tool, the patient should understand more about their condition and have a clearer view of the path they should take.
Our peer-reviewed study shows that after using Infermedica Triage, the percentage of patients who still did not know what kind or level of care they needed decreased by 25.4%.
Does the virtual triage improve patients' understanding of care needs?
Patients use virtual triage to learn more about their current healthcare condition and understand the level of care they need. Your chosen virtual triage tool should offer the patient peace of mind and instruction on self-care, encourage them to see a physician or specialist, or prompt them to take immediate emergency action.
One study, published in the International Journal of Healthcare, found that 35% of patients changed their care-seeking behavior after using Infermedica’s virtual triage tool. Furthermore, a case study with large Australian health insurer, nib, discovered that 85% of members were directed to self-care or consultation.
Your virtual triage should also provide patients with valuable information about their symptoms and condition. Infermedica’s Patient Education feature does just that.
Infermedica’s Patient Education feature comprises a series of evidence-based articles, created and reviewed by medical professionals. Part of Infermedica Triage, these articles give accurate healthcare information about a patient’s most probable conditions, symptom causes, common care methods, and things to watch out for.
Jakub Jaszczak
Medical Doctor & Senior Product Manager.
Does the virtual triage create a great patient experience?
Any patient-facing digital healthcare solution must be user-friendly and support the needs of the patients. To create a great patient experience, you must be able to meet your patients where they are and give them the opportunity to access your healthcare services in the best way for them. For many, this is via virtual triage.
Infermedica’s virtual triage is available in 24 languages allowing many healthcare organizations to offer a digital front door to their patients in their first language. Additionally, patients can input their symptoms by typing into the search bar or pinpointing the location of the problem on a body avatar, allowing users to interact with the tool in the manner that they prefer. Most importantly, the symptom checker must give the user confidence in its results and provide easy-to-understand guidance on the best next steps.
Infermedica's engine accuracy is 94%, and over 80% of patients state that they are very likely or likely to use Infermedica’s virtual triage again.
Does the virtual triage encourage the use of telemedicine and virtual services?
The adoption of telemedicine and virtual triage solutions is one of the major challenges to the digital healthcare revolution. If you aim to increase the use of your virtual healthcare solutions, your triage tool can act as a stepping stone to encourage the use of these digital services. By integrating your virtual triage symptom checker into your existing healthcare ecosystem, low-acuity patients can be guided to book telemedicine appointments instead of in-person visits, freeing up valuable in-person appointments for higher-acuity cases.
Infermedica’s virtual triage directed 33% of patients who intended to see a doctor to teleconsultation.
Does the virtual triage detect possible life-threatening conditions early?
Virtual triage gives people increased access to credible information and tools that allow them to assess their symptoms conveniently and make more informed healthcare decisions. While in many cases this may result in a de-escalation of care setting acuity, it can also help detect more serious conditions early on and offer crucial guidance that could help reduce the severity of the healthcare impact in the long term.
Our peer-reviewed research shows that 76% of users with symptoms of a heart attack didn't plan to seek urgent care. By detecting these symptoms early on, Infermedica’s virtual triage can help reduce morbidity and mortality by directing patients to the necessary care. This results in better healthcare outcomes for the patients and a reduction in avoidable care costs. Another study shows that Infermedica’s virtual triage could lead to life-saving decisions in 2 out of every 1,000 cases.
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Does the virtual triage divert low-acuity patients from emergency departments?
Emergency care is designed to treat patients with the most severe symptoms or injuries. However, for many patients with low-acuity symptoms, the emergency department has become the easiest and quickest way to access a healthcare professional when they are concerned or uncertain about their symptoms—particularly outside normal office hours. Virtual triage helps to tackle the problem of emergency department overutilization by offering patients a digital front door anywhere, anytime.
Research into Infermedia’s virtual triage usage shows that while in 17% of cases the patient's initial intention was to seek urgent care, the triage engine only recommended urgent care in 8%. This is equivalent to a 53% reduction in urgent care referrals.
Does the virtual triage provide accurate and safe triage recommendations?
Identifying whether the healthcare recommendations are accurate and safe for patients to use and follow is a crucial element of every virtual triage tool. In a high-stakes industry such as healthcare, the most important aspect must be safeguarding people’s health.
Infermedica’s virtual triage is proven to be as safe as Schmitt-Thompson protocols—the current industry gold standard for patient triage in the US. During extensive objective research, both Infermedica and Schmitt-Thompson produced zero critical mis-triage (where an ‘emergency’ is identified and ‘self-care’).
For health plans: Virtual triage for health plans: 9 benefits that redefine care
Check out all of our peer-reviewed research and download the summaries.
BL/EN/2024/10/23/1
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