Digital medical history implementation to triage orthopaedic patients during COVID‐19: Findings from a rapid cycle, semi‐randomised A/B testing quality improvement project

Introduction Methods Ethical Approval Results Discussion and Conclusion The COVID‐19 pandemic severely impacted musculoskeletal care. To better triage the notable backlog of patients, we assessed whether a digital medical history (DMH), a summary of health information and concerns completed by the patient prior to a clinic visit, could be routinely collected and utilised.We analysed 640 patients using a rapid cycle, semi‐randomised A/B testing approach. Four rapid cycles of different randomised interventions were conducted across five unique patient groups. Descriptive statistics were used to report DMH completion rates by cycle/patient group and intervention. Multivariable logistic regression was used to determine whether age or anatomic injury location was associated DMH completion. (Quality Improvement Project)Across all patients, the DMH completion rate was 48% (307/640). Phone calls were time consuming and resource intensive without an increased completion rate. The highest rate of DMH completion was among patients who were referred and called the clinic themselves (78% of patients [63 out of 81 patients]). Across all patients, increasing age (odds ratio [OR]: 0.985 (95% CI: 0.976–0.995), p = 0.002), patients with back concerns (OR: 0.395 (95% CI: 0.234–0.666), p = 0.001), and patients with non‐specific/other musculoskeletal concerns (OR: 0.331 (95% CI: 0.176–0.623), p = 0.001) were associated with decreased odds of DMH completion.DMHs can be valuable in helping triage orthopaedic patients in resource‐strapped settings, times of crisis, or as we transition towards value‐based health care delivery. However, further work is needed to continue to increase the completion rate about 50%. [ FROM AUTHOR] Copyright of Musculoskeletal Care is the property of John Wiley & Sons, Inc. and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full . (Copyright applies to all s.)