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Safety and efficiency of non-contact first specialist assessment in neurology
Pietro Cariga1, William H C Huang, Annemarei Ranta
1Department of Neurology, Palmerston North Hospital, Palmerston North, New Zealand. pietro.cariga@midcentraldhb.govt.nz
Aim:
To investigate safety and efficiency of non-contact first specialist assessments (NCFSA) in neurology.
Methods:
Out of a cohort of 1107 patients referred to a neurology clinic, a total of 222 (20%) was triaged into NCFSA and investigated with a 6 months observational study of safety and efficiency indicators.
Results:
There were three (1.35%) adverse events (delay in diagnosis) recorded, one of which with actual detriment to the patient. After 6 months the rate of re-referrals was 11.26%, and inpatient admission rate 5.86%.
Conclusions:
There is a potential for NCFSAs to optimise the use of available resources in a neurology outpatient setting with low risk of delay in diagnosis.
