Analysis on the features of outpatients between online and offline general practice clinics / 中华医院管理杂志

ABSTRACT

Objective To identify the features of outpatients visiting the online GP clinics and compare the data with outpatients in offline clinic visits, for reference of outlining the service boundaries of online outpatient services. Methods Data were collected from the online outpatient clinic of the First Affiliated Hospital of Zhejiang University between February 2016 and February 2017. The data usage was descriptive statistical analysis of the basic information and disease information of the patients. Results An analysis of the 715 online general practice consultations found the following proportions: diseases of the digestive system(11.3%), that of urinary system(7.7%), that of endocrine system(7.1%), that of respiratory system(6.9% )and that of circulatory system(4.6% ). Among the 5 796 offline consultations, the proportions were as follows:diseases of the digestive system(27.4% ), that of endocrine system(15.5% ), that of respiratory system(10.2%), that of urinary system(5.8%) and that of musculoskeletal system (5.4% ). 563 online outpatients ( 78.7% ) and 4 716 offline outpatients ( 81.4% ) were diagnosed respectively, while 152 online and 1 080 offline outpatients were medically unexplained physical symptoms. The comparison of the two groups lacked significant differences. Conclusions Characteristics of online outpatients look similar to offline ones, while the former facilitates appointment-based laboratory and imaging examination, health consultation and follow-up of chronic diseases.