Evaluation of Patient Experience During Virtual and In-Person Urgent Care Visits: Time and Cost Analysis
Urgent care (UC) is one of the fastest growing venues of health care delivery for nonemergent conditions. This study compared the patient experience during virtual and in-person urgent care visits. We conducted a cross-sectional study of patients with the same diagnosis during Virtual Urgent Care (V...
| Main Authors: | , , , , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
SAGE Publishing
2021-01-01
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| Series: | Journal of Patient Experience |
| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1177/2374373520981487 |
| _version_ | 1811309752942067712 |
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| author | Saif Khairat PhD, MPH Xi Lin MS Songzi Liu MSIS Zhaohui Man MSIS Tanzila Zaman PSM Barbara Edson RN, MBA Robert Gianforcaro DO, FAAFP |
| author_facet | Saif Khairat PhD, MPH Xi Lin MS Songzi Liu MSIS Zhaohui Man MSIS Tanzila Zaman PSM Barbara Edson RN, MBA Robert Gianforcaro DO, FAAFP |
| author_sort | Saif Khairat PhD, MPH |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Urgent care (UC) is one of the fastest growing venues of health care delivery for nonemergent conditions. This study compared the patient experience during virtual and in-person urgent care visits. We conducted a cross-sectional study of patients with the same diagnosis during Virtual Urgent Care (VUC) and in-person UC visits with the same diagnosis with regard to time and cost over a period of one year. We recorded and analyzed 16 685 urgent care visits: In-person UC (n = 14 734), VUC (n = 1262). Significant differences were found in the average total time for a visit in an in-person UC (70.89 minutes), and VUC (9.38 minutes). The average total cost of VUC ($49) and in-person UC ($142.657) differed significantly. Significant difference was found between UC turnaround time and VC turnaround time (Dependent variable (DV): 53.77, P < .01). We found significant differences in cost and time between in favor of virtual visits. Our findings suggest additional policy reform to expand the use of virtual care among target populations to improve access, reduce costs, meet the needs of patients, and reduce emergency department visits. |
| first_indexed | 2024-04-13T09:47:44Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-9014a284129f439cbbfccbd92f7b688e |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2374-3743 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-04-13T09:47:44Z |
| publishDate | 2021-01-01 |
| publisher | SAGE Publishing |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Journal of Patient Experience |
| spelling | doaj.art-9014a284129f439cbbfccbd92f7b688e2022-12-22T02:51:42ZengSAGE PublishingJournal of Patient Experience2374-37432021-01-01810.1177/2374373520981487Evaluation of Patient Experience During Virtual and In-Person Urgent Care Visits: Time and Cost AnalysisSaif Khairat PhD, MPH0Xi Lin MS1Songzi Liu MSIS2Zhaohui Man MSIS3Tanzila Zaman PSM4Barbara Edson RN, MBA5Robert Gianforcaro DO, FAAFP6 School of Nursing, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, NC, USA Department of Statistics and Operations Research, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, NC, USA School of Information and Library Science, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, NC, USA School of Information and Library Science, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, NC, USA Carolina Health Informatics Program, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, NC, USA UNC Health Care, Chapel Hill, NC, USA UNC Health Care, Chapel Hill, NC, USAUrgent care (UC) is one of the fastest growing venues of health care delivery for nonemergent conditions. This study compared the patient experience during virtual and in-person urgent care visits. We conducted a cross-sectional study of patients with the same diagnosis during Virtual Urgent Care (VUC) and in-person UC visits with the same diagnosis with regard to time and cost over a period of one year. We recorded and analyzed 16 685 urgent care visits: In-person UC (n = 14 734), VUC (n = 1262). Significant differences were found in the average total time for a visit in an in-person UC (70.89 minutes), and VUC (9.38 minutes). The average total cost of VUC ($49) and in-person UC ($142.657) differed significantly. Significant difference was found between UC turnaround time and VC turnaround time (Dependent variable (DV): 53.77, P < .01). We found significant differences in cost and time between in favor of virtual visits. Our findings suggest additional policy reform to expand the use of virtual care among target populations to improve access, reduce costs, meet the needs of patients, and reduce emergency department visits.https://doi.org/10.1177/2374373520981487 |
| spellingShingle | Saif Khairat PhD, MPH Xi Lin MS Songzi Liu MSIS Zhaohui Man MSIS Tanzila Zaman PSM Barbara Edson RN, MBA Robert Gianforcaro DO, FAAFP Evaluation of Patient Experience During Virtual and In-Person Urgent Care Visits: Time and Cost Analysis Journal of Patient Experience |
| title | Evaluation of Patient Experience During Virtual and In-Person Urgent Care Visits: Time and Cost Analysis |
| title_full | Evaluation of Patient Experience During Virtual and In-Person Urgent Care Visits: Time and Cost Analysis |
| title_fullStr | Evaluation of Patient Experience During Virtual and In-Person Urgent Care Visits: Time and Cost Analysis |
| title_full_unstemmed | Evaluation of Patient Experience During Virtual and In-Person Urgent Care Visits: Time and Cost Analysis |
| title_short | Evaluation of Patient Experience During Virtual and In-Person Urgent Care Visits: Time and Cost Analysis |
| title_sort | evaluation of patient experience during virtual and in person urgent care visits time and cost analysis |
| url | https://doi.org/10.1177/2374373520981487 |
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