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- Talk
- 09/07/2022
- UK
Accuracy and Safety of Telephone Triage, Supported by MRI in Diagnosing Acute Injuries of The Knee Joint in a Knee Injury Clinic
Description
In this presentation, Niall Maher, a clinical specialist physiotherapist from Leeds, discusses an audit conducted on the safety and accuracy of telephone triage supplemented by MRI for diagnosing acute knee injuries. The changes in patient assessment methods were necessitated by the COVID-19 pandemic, which prompted a shift to remote consultations. Maher emphasizes the importance of subjective assessments conducted over the phone, ensuring that appropriate patients were directed to the right clinics, and affirming that the telephone triage model proved to be safe and efficient, providing timely access to care.
Throughout the audit, Maher notes the importance of distinguishing between patients who experienced significant trauma versus those with soft tissue injuries. The analysis of 194 patients showed a successful diagnostic accuracy of 79% for those assessed via telephone triage, with MRI support, which is comparable to traditional face-to-face assessments. Results indicated that the majority of patients (74%) who received an MRI were discharged directly from the clinic, supporting the potential of this telemedicine model as a cost-effective solution moving forward. The audit's findings underscore the effectiveness of experienced clinicians in managing acute knee injuries via remote assessments.