SHBC1195

M.WANG¹, Z.R.TAN¹, J.Y.YEO¹, W.T.CHEN¹

Tan Tock Seng Hospital¹

TTSH CHT Telephonic and triage (TT) team was formed in February 2020 to streamline all referrals from the previous model of seven points to one single point so as to improve the appropriateness of enrolment and rejection of patients into CHT service. The aim of this study was to understand the effectiveness of TT team in patient’s care management.

A quantitative case review study was conducted for 80 patients who were enrolled to TT team from 1st to 30th November 2020. Patients’ current health problems were categorised using Omaha System classification system. 30-days and 90-days pre-and post-inpatient utilisation rates were looked at. Descriptive statistics and Kruskal-Wallis test were used to analyse the data.

Of these 80 enrolment, median days of enrolment are 33 (patients with 1 health problem), 41 (patients with 2 health problems) and 30 (patients with 3 health problems) with no statistical significance between the groups (chi square = 2.66, p= 0.26, df=2). There is a 43% decrease in admission rate for 30 days post-enrolment and 51% decrease in admission rate for 90 days post enrolment into TT team.

This study illustrated the streamlined TT team had the effect of reducing healthcare utilisation rates by reducing hospital admission. The number of health problems did not play a significant factor in determining the duration of telephonic management. Further studies should be conducted to understand the factors influencing the effectiveness of telephonic management.