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Researchers assessed the effects of a tele-intake triage intervention in the emergency department (ED) of a single community hospital. The intervention involved use of a remote tele-intake physician to perform triage history and physical exam and initiate orders for patients arriving in the ED from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. daily. The primary outcome was the 24-hour left-without-being-seen (LWBS) rate (defined as leaving prior to evaluation by either a tele-intake or onsite clinician). Secondary outcomes included the left-without-treatment-complete (LWTC) rate (leaving after triage by a tele-intake provider but before evaluation by an onsite clinician) and ED length of stay.
The LWBS rate decreased significantly from 2.3% before the intervention to …