Table 2 Characteristics of Emergency Department visits by telehealth group pre and post-delivery of the telehealth strategy
Variable |  | Pre-intervention control (n = 461) | Post-intervention control (n = 435) | Pre-intervention telehealth (n = 201) | Post -intervention telehealth (n = 174) | Total (N = 1271) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Sex | Female | 297 (64%) | 291 (67%) | 133 (66%) | 121 (70%) | 842 (66%) |
Arrived by ambulance | Yes | 423 (92%) | 403 (93%) | 185 (92%) | 166 (95%) | 1177 (93%) |
Triage category | Resuscitation | 9 (2.0%) | 4 (0.9%) | 0 (0%) | 3 (1.7%) | 16 (1.3%) |
Emergency | 62 (13%) | 74 (17%) | 26 (13%) | 26 (15%) | 188 (15%) | |
Urgent | 153 (33%) | 141 (32%) | 73 (36%) | 56 (32%) | 423 (33%) | |
Semi-urgent | 215 (47%) | 202 (46%) | 92 (46%) | 84 (48%) | 593 (47%) | |
Non-urgent | 22 (4.8%) | 14 (3.2%) | 10 (5.0%) | 5 (2.9%) | 51 (4.0%) | |
Disposition | Critical care ward | 22 (4.8%) | 22 (5.1%) | 10 (5.0%) | 12 (6.9%) | 66 (5.2%) |
Discharged | 190 (41%) | 154 (35%) | 75 (37%) | 57 (33%) | 476 (37%) | |
General ward | 232(50%) | 229 (53%) | 113 (56%) | 99 (57%) | 673 (53%) | |
Transferred to other hospital | 14 (3.0%) | 20 (4.6%) | 3 (1.5%) | 6 (3.4%) | 43 (3.4%) | |
Triage diagnosis | Carer Concern | 28 (6.3%) | 22 (5.4%) | 6 (3.1%) | 8 (4.8%) | 64 (5.3%) |
Chest pain | 17 (3.8%) | 10 (2.5%) | 10 (5.2%) | 8 (4.8%) | 45 (3.7%) | |
Collapse/Syncope | 11 (2.5%) | 9 (2.2%) | 6 (3.1%) | 2 (1.2%) | 28 (2.3%) | |
Confusion | 22 (5.0%) | 26 (6.4%) | 8 (4.1%) | 6 (3.6%) | 62 (5.1%) | |
Fall, Unspecified | 114 (26%) | 115 (28%) | 54 (28%) | 53 (32%) | 336 (28%) | |
Fever | 9 (2.0%) | 20 (4.9%) | 4 (2.1%) | 6 (3.6%) | 39 (3.2%) | |
Injury | 26 (5.9%) | 18 (4.4%) | 14 (7.3%) | 14 (8.4%) | 72 (6.0%) | |
Other | 151 (34%) | 117 (29%) | 64 (33%) | 42 (25%) | 374 (31%) | |
Pain - Abdominal | 12 (2.7%) | 11 (2.7%) | 7 (3.6%) | 5 (3.0%) | 35 (2.9%) | |
Respiratory - Cough | 10 (2.3%) | 14 (3.5%) | 4 (2.1%) | 8 (4.8%) | 36 (3.0%) | |
Respiratory - Shortness of Breath | 33 (7.4%) | 33 (8.1%) | 11 (5.7%) | 12 (7.2%) | 89 (7.4%) | |
Urinary Problems | 11 (2.5%) | 10 (2.5%) | 5 (2.6%) | 3 (1.8%) | 29 (2.4%) | |
Died in hospital | Yes | 29 (6.3%) | 53 (12%) | 12 (6.0%) | 13 (7.5%) | 107(7.9%) |
Age | median (Q1, Q3) | 87 (83, 91) | 87 (82, 91) | 87 (83, 91) | 89 (84, 92) | 87 (83, 91) |
Length of stay ED (mins) | median (Q1, Q3) | 369 (246, 566) | 337 (235, 508) | 350 (239, 587) | 371 (255, 518) | 356 (239, 549) |