Abstract
OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the effect of a pre-examination and triage system on patient treatment efficiency and medical staff satisfaction and to explore its application value in clinical practice. METHOD: This study employed a historical controlled trial design. A total of 120 patients with fever who visited our fever outpatient clinic between April and May 2023 were recruited as the control group using the convenience sampling method. One hundred twenty patients with fever who visited the clinic between April and May 2024 were recruited as the study group via the same method. In the study group, the pre-examination and triage system was used to pre-examine and triage the patients. The triage time, waiting time, incidence of febrile seizures, average number of hospitalization days, readmission rate and satisfaction of patients and medical staff were compared between the two groups. RESULTS: The average triage time of the study group was 10.25 ± 4.58 min, which was significantly lower than the 15.66 ± 4.62 min of the control group (p < 0.001). The waiting time was reduced from 46.05 ± 9.79 min in the control group to 30.49 ± 9.07 min (p < 0.001) in the study group. The satisfaction of patients and medical staff was significantly improved, indicating that the pre-examination and triage system effectively enhanced the treatment experience and job satisfaction. CONCLUSION: The implementation of the pre-examination and triage system significantly improved treatment efficiency and patient satisfaction as well as the work experience of medical staff, meaning the system has practical promotion value.