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Can an advanced audiology-led service reduce waiting times for paediatric ear nose and throat outpatient services?
Michelle A Pokorny1, Peter R Thorne2,3, Bernard Cs Whitfield4
1Discipline of Audiology, School of Health and Rehabilitation Sciences, The University of Queensland, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia.
Insights
An advanced audiology (AA)-led service significantly reduced waiting times for children needing ear, nose, and throat (ENT) care. This innovative model improved access to timely audiology services for pediatric middle ear disease.
Area of Science:
- Pediatric Otolaryngology
- Audiology
- Healthcare Service Delivery
Background:
- Children with middle ear disease face long waits for specialist ear, nose, and throat (ENT) services.
- Current ENT outpatient models present significant delays in accessing care for pediatric hearing concerns.
Purpose of the Study:
- To evaluate an alternative service model utilizing audiologists with an expanded scope of practice.
- To determine if this advanced audiology (AA)-led service reduces waiting times for pediatric ENT referrals.
Main Methods:
- A prospective study allocated 131 children referred for middle ear and hearing issues to either standard ENT or AA-led services.
- Waiting times and attendance rates were compared between the two groups.
Main Results:
- The AA-led service reduced median waiting time for initial appointments from 417.5 to 96 days.
- Attendance rates were higher in the AA-led service (79%) compared to the standard ENT service (61%).
- For grommet insertion, waiting times decreased from 627 days to 226 days in the AA-led service.
Conclusions:
- An advanced audiology (AA)-led service is an effective alternative pathway for children with middle ear and hearing concerns.
- This model significantly improves access to timely care, reducing delays in pediatric ENT services.
Aim:
Children with middle ear disease often experience lengthy delays waiting for outpatient paediatric ear nose and throat (ENT) services. This study aimed to investigate whether an alternative service delivery model using audiologists working in an expanded scope of practice reduced waiting times for children to access such services.
Methods:
A total of 131 children consecutively referred to a large ENT outpatient service in Queensland, Australia, for middle ear and hearing concerns were prospectively allocated to either a standard ENT service or an advanced audiology (AA)-led service. Waiting times and attendance rates were collected and compared between the two patient groups.
Results:
The median waiting time from referral to first offered appointment was 96 days for children in the AA-led service versus 417.5 days for children in the standard ENT service. Seventy-nine percent of children in the AA-led service attended their first offered appointment versus 61% in the standard ENT service. For children receiving grommets, the median waiting time from initial referral to grommet insertion was 226 days for children in the AA-led service versus 627 days for children in the standard ENT service.
Conclusion:
The AA-led service was an effective alternative pathway to reduce waiting times for children referred to ENT services with middle ear and hearing concerns.
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