Online forward triage during the COVID-19 outbreak

Area of Science:

• Public Health
• Health Informatics
• Epidemiology

Background:

• COVID-19 pandemic presented significant challenges to health systems globally.
• Rapidly evolving information and guidelines complicated patient management.
• Online forward triage tools (OFTTs) emerged as a potential solution to provide information and manage patient flow.

Purpose of the Study:

• To implement and assess the impact of an OFTT during the COVID-19 pandemic.
• To adapt the OFTT based on changing public health recommendations and testing criteria.
• To evaluate the tool's effectiveness in directing patients and reducing healthcare system burden.

Main Methods:

• An OFTT was developed and implemented on March 2, 2020.
• Content and goals were regularly updated according to Swiss Federal Office of Public Health guidelines.
• A chatbot was integrated on April 9, 2020, to assess testing urgency and referral needs.

Main Results:

• Over 17,300 visitors used the OFTT in the first 40 days.
• 69.8% of users indicated they would have contacted the healthcare system without the tool.
• Testing recommendation rates increased from 9.1% to 36.0% after guideline changes, with 26.27% of all users directed to testing.

Conclusions:

• OFTTs are valuable components of local COVID-19 pandemic strategies.
• These tools can alleviate healthcare system strain, reassure patients, and inform authorities.
• Continuous adaptation and further research on clinical outcomes are crucial for OFTT effectiveness.