How Virtual Triage Can Improve Patient Experience and Satisfaction: A Narrative Review and Look Forward

Objective

To complete a review of the literature on patient experience and satisfaction as relates to the potential for virtual triage (VT) or symptom checkers to enhance and enable improvements in these important health care delivery objectives.

Methods

Review and synthesis of the literature on patient experience and satisfaction as informed by emerging evidence, indicating potential for VT to favorably impact these clinical care objectives and outcomes.

Results/Conclusions

VT enhances potential clinical effectiveness through early detection and referral, can reduce avoidable care delivery due to late clinical presentation, and can divert primary care needs to more clinically appropriate outpatient settings rather than high-acuity emergency departments. Delivery of earlier and faster, more acuity level-appropriate care, as well as patient avoidance of excess care acuity (and associated cost), offer promise as contributors to improved patient experience and satisfaction. The application of digital triage as a front door to health care delivery organizations offers care engagement that can help reduce patient need to visit a medical facility for low-acuity conditions more suitable for self-care, thus avoiding unpleasant queues and reducing microbiological and other patient risks associated with visits to medical facilities. VT also offers an opportunity for providers to make patient health care experiences more personalized.

The Role of Virtual Triage in Improving Clinician Experience and Satisfaction: A Narrative Review

Objective

This review examines the literature on improving clinician satisfaction with a focus on what has been most effective in improving experience from the perspective of clinicians, and the potential role that virtual triage (VT) technology can play in delivering positive clinician experiences that improve clinical care, and bring value to health care delivery organizations (HDOs).

Methods

Review and synthesis of evidence on clinician satisfaction indicating a potential for VT to favorably impact clinician experience, sense of effectiveness, efficiency, and reduction of administrative task burden. Analysis considers how to conceptualize and the value of improving clinician experience, leading clinician dissatisfiers, and the potential role of VT in improving clinician experience/satisfaction.

Results

Contributors to poor clinician experience/satisfaction where VT could have a beneficial impact include better managing resource limitations, administrative workload, lack of care coordination, information overload, and payer interactions. VT can improve clinician experience through the technology's ability to leverage real-time actionable data clinicians can use, streamlining patient-clinician communications, personalizing care delivery, optimizing care coordination, and better aligning digital/virtual services with clinical practice. From an organizational perspective, improvements in clinician experience and satisfaction derive from establishing an effective digital back door, increasing the clinical impact of and satisfaction derived from telemedicine and virtual care, and enhancing clinician centricity.

Conclusions

By embracing digital transformation and implementing solutions such as VT that focus on improving patient and clinician experience, HDOs can address barriers to delivery of high-quality, efficient, and cost-effective care. VT is a digital health tool that can create a more streamlined and satisfying experience for clinicians and the patients they care for. VT is a technology solution that can help clinicians make faster more informed decisions, reduces avoidable care, improves communication with patients and within care teams, and lowers their administrative burden so they have more quality time to care for patients.