eVisits in the digital era of Swedish primary care

Objective: To evaluate asynchronous digital visits (eVisits) with regard to digital communication, clinical decisionmaking,and subsequent care utilization in the digital era of primary care in Sweden.Methods: A mixed-methods approach was adopted across the various papers in the thesis, with all studiesevaluating the eVisit platform Flow in various clinical contexts.- Paper I was a comparative study of digital triage decisions when presented with automated patienthistory reports generated by the platform. Inter-rater reliability of triage decisions by majority vote in apanel of five physicians was compared to triage decisions by a machine learning model trained usingdata labelled by an expert primary care physician.- Paper II was a qualitative focus group study of nurse and physician experiences of digitalcommunication at three primary health care centers using the platform. Themes were generated usingqualitative content analysis as described by Graneheim and Lundman.- Papers III and IV were observational studies comparing office visits in the Skåne Region from Capio,a large private health care provider, to eVisit patients from Capio Go, a national eVisit service. Adultpatients with a chief complaint of sore throat, dysuria, or cough/common cold/influenza were recruited.eVisit patients were recruited prospectively digitally prior to their eVisit, while the office visit controlgroup was recruited retrospectively using letters. Paper III primarily compared antibiotic prescriptionrates per sore throat visit, while paper IV primarily compared subsequent physical health careutilization within two weeks for patients in the Skåne Region.Results: Interrater reliability was low (Cohen κ 0.17) between the panel majority vote and the machine learningmodel. Physicians and nurses experienced digitally filtered primary care, adjusting to a novel medium ofcommunication highlighting challenges in interpreting symptoms through text as well as alterations in practiceworkflow using asynchronous communication. Antibiotics prescription rate within three days was not higher aftereVisits compared to office visits (169/798 (21.2%) vs. 124/312 (39.7%) for sore throat, respectively; P<.001). Nosignificant differences in subsequent physical visits within two weeks (excluding the first 48 h of expected “digi-physical”care) were noted following eVisits compared to office visits (179 (18.0%) vs. 102 (17.6%); P = .854).Conclusions: eVisits do not seem to be associated with over-prescription of antibiotics, or over-utilization ofphysical health care when assessing common infectious symptoms. Given staff experiencing uncertainties ininterpretation of symptoms and triage decisions being inconsistent, eVisits may be best used as one of manymodalities to access primary care, with focus placed on facilitating patient-centered professional judgement bystaff, rather than automation of complex decisions

Understanding exercise addiction, psychiatric characteristics and use of anabolic androgenic steroids among recreational athletes – An online survey study

BackgroundThe purpose of this paper was to explore maladaptive behaviors among physically active individuals, including exercise dependence and use of anabolic steroids. Both exercise addiction (EA) and use of anabolic androgenic steroids (AAS) correlate to high amounts of exercise and EA have been linked to eating disorders and other mental health problems. MethodsAn internet survey was spread through fitness-related social media. Inclusion criteria were age >= 15 years and exercise frequency >= thrice weekly. Exercise addiction inventory identified those at-risk of EA (rEA). Characteristics of rEA were compared to those not at risk. In a separate analysis, AAS users were compared to AAS-naive individuals. ResultsIn total, 3,029 participants completed the questionnaire. Of these, 11% screened positive for being rEA, and 23% for ED. Factors associated with EA included daily exercise, social phobia, eating disorders and OCD. Risk consumption of alcohol was a negative predictor. Thirty seven participants had taken AAS the last year. These were mainly men, bodybuilders/powerlifters and more often used amphetamines and opioids. DiscussionThis exploratory study supports EA being strongly associated with eating disorders. Identified associations between EA and compulsive or anxiety disorders warrant further research to clarify if these associations arise prior to, together with, or secondary to EA

Culprit vessel: impact on short-term and long-term prognosis in patients with ST-elevation myocardial infarction.

Background ST-elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI) occurs as a result of rupture of an atherosclerotic plaque in the coronary arteries. Limited data exist regarding the impact of culprit coronary vessel on hard clinical event rates. This study investigated the impact of culprit vessel on outcomes after primary percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) of STEMI.Methods A total of 29 832 previously cardiac healthy patients who underwent primary PCI between 2003 and 2014 were prospectively included from the Swedish Coronary Angiography and Angioplasty Registry and the Registry of Information and Knowledge about Swedish Heart Intensive care Admissions. Patients were stratified into three groups based on culprit vessel (right coronary artery (RCA), left anterior descending artery (LAD) and left circumflex artery (LCx)). The primary outcome was 1-year mortality. The secondary outcomes included 30-day and 5-year mortality, as well as heart failure, stroke, bleeding and myocardial reinfarction at 30 days, 1 year and 5 years. Univariable and multivariable analyses were done using Cox regression models.Results One-year analyses revealed that LAD infarctions had the highest increased risk of death, heart failure and stroke compared with RCA infarctions, which had the lowest risk. Sensitivity analyses revealed that reduced left ventricular ejection fraction on discharge partially explained this increased relative risk in mortality. Furthermore, landmark analyses revealed that culprit vessel had no significant influence on 1-year mortality if a patient survived 30 days after myocardial infarction. Subgroup analyses revealed female sex and multivessel disease (MVD) as significant high-risk groups with respect to 1-year mortality.Conclusions LAD and LCx infarctions had a relatively higher adjusted mortality rate compared with RCA infarctions, with LAD infarctions in particular being associated with an increased risk of heart failure, stroke and death. Culprit vessel had limited influence on mortality after 1 month. High-risk patient groups include LAD infarctions in women or with concomitant MVD

Human- Versus Machine Learning-Based Triage Using Digitalized Patient Histories in Primary Care : Comparative Study

BACKGROUND: Smartphones have made it possible for patients to digitally report symptoms before physical primary care visits. Using machine learning (ML), these data offer an opportunity to support decisions about the appropriate level of care (triage).OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this study was to explore the interrater reliability between human physicians and an automated ML-based triage method.METHODS: After testing several models, a naïve Bayes triage model was created using data from digital medical histories, capable of classifying digital medical history reports as either in need of urgent physical examination or not in need of urgent physical examination. The model was tested on 300 digital medical history reports and classification was compared with the majority vote of an expert panel of 5 primary care physicians (PCPs). Reliability between raters was measured using both Cohen κ (adjusted for chance agreement) and percentage agreement (not adjusted for chance agreement).RESULTS: Interrater reliability as measured by Cohen κ was 0.17 when comparing the majority vote of the reference group with the model. Agreement was 74% (138/186) for cases judged not in need of urgent physical examination and 42% (38/90) for cases judged to be in need of urgent physical examination. No specific features linked to the model's triage decision could be identified. Between physicians within the panel, Cohen κ was 0.2. Intrarater reliability when 1 physician retriaged 50 reports resulted in Cohen κ of 0.55.CONCLUSIONS: Low interrater and intrarater agreement in triage decisions among PCPs limits the possibility to use human decisions as a reference for ML to automate triage in primary care

Experiences of digital communication with automated patient interviews and asynchronous chat in Swedish primary care : a qualitative study

OBJECTIVES: To explore staff experiences of working with a digital communication platform implemented throughout several primary healthcare centres in Sweden.DESIGN: A descriptive qualitative approach using focus group interviews. Qualitative content analysis was used to code, categorise and thematise data.SETTING: Primary healthcare centres across Sweden, in both rural and urban settings.PARTICIPANTS: A total of three mixed focus groups, comprising 19 general practitioners and nurses with experience using a specific digital communication platform.RESULTS: Five categories emerged: 'Fears and Benefits of Digital Communication', 'Altered Practice Workflow', 'Accepting the Digital Society', 'Safe and Secure for Patients' and 'Doesn't Suit Everyone and Everything'. These were abstracted into two comprehensive themes: 'Adjusting to a novel medium of communication' and 'Digitally filtered primary care', describing how staff experienced integrating the software as a useful tool for certain clinical contexts while managing the communication challenges associated with written communication.CONCLUSIONS: Family medicine staff were ambivalent concerning the use of digital communication but, after a period of adjustment, it was seen as a useful communication tool especially when combined with continuity of care. Staff acknowledged limitations regarding use by inappropriate patient populations, information overload and misinterpretation of text by both staff and patients

Problem Gambling in the Fitness World - A General Population Web Survey.

The world of sports has a complex association to problem gambling, and the sparse research examining problem gambling in athletes has suggested an increased prevalence and particularly high male predominance. The present study aimed to study frequency and correlates of problem gambling in populations with moderate to high involvement in fitness or physical exercise. This is a self-selective online survey focusing on addictive behaviors in physical exercise distributed by 'fitness influencers' on social media and other online fitness forums to their followers. Respondents were included if they reported exercise at least thrice weekly, were above 15 years of age, and provided informed consent (N = 3088). Problem gambling, measured with the Lie/Bet, was studied in association with demographic data, substance use, and mental health variables. The occurrence of lifetime problem gambling was 8 percent (12 percent in men, one percent in women). In logistic regression, problem gambling was associated with male gender, younger age, risky alcohol drinking, obsessive-compulsive disorder, and less frequent exercise habits. In conclusion, in this self-recruited population with moderate to high fitness involvement, problem gambling was moderately elevated. As shown previously in elite athletes, the male predominance was larger than in the general population. The findings strengthen the link between problem gambling and the world of sports

Antibiotic Prescription Rates After eVisits Versus Office Visits in Primary Care : Observational Study

BACKGROUND: Direct-to-consumer telemedicine is an increasingly used modality to access primary care. Previous research on assessment using synchronous virtual visits showed mixed results regarding antibiotic prescription rates, and research on assessment using asynchronous chat-based eVisits is lacking.OBJECTIVE: The goal of the research was to investigate if eVisit management of sore throat, other respiratory symptoms, or dysuria leads to higher rates of antibiotic prescription compared with usual management using physical office visits.METHODS: Data from 3847 eVisits and 759 office visits for sore throat, dysuria, or respiratory symptoms were acquired from a large private health care provider in Sweden. Data were analyzed to compare antibiotic prescription rates within 3 days, antibiotic type, and diagnoses made. For a subset of sore throat visits (n=160 eVisits, n=125 office visits), Centor criteria data were manually extracted and validated.RESULTS: Antibiotic prescription rates were lower following eVisits compared with office visits for sore throat (169/798, 21.2%, vs 124/312, 39.7%; P<.001) and respiratory symptoms (27/1724, 1.6%, vs 50/251, 19.9%; P<.001), while no significant differences were noted comparing eVisits to office visits for dysuria (1016/1325, 76.7%, vs 143/196, 73.0%; P=.25). Guideline-recommended antibiotics were prescribed similarly following sore throat eVisits and office visits (163/169, 96.4%, vs 117/124, 94.4%; P=.39). eVisits for respiratory symptoms and dysuria were more often prescribed guideline-recommended antibiotics (26/27, 96.3%, vs 37/50, 74.0%; P=.02 and 1009/1016, 99.3%, vs 135/143, 94.4%; P<.001, respectively). Odds ratios of antibiotic prescription following office visits compared with eVisits after adjusting for age and differences in set diagnoses were 2.94 (95% CI 1.99-4.33), 11.57 (95% CI 5.50-24.32), 1.01 (95% CI 0.66-1.53), for sore throat, respiratory symptoms, and dysuria, respectively.CONCLUSIONS: The use of asynchronous eVisits for the management of sore throat, dysuria, and respiratory symptoms is not associated with an inherent overprescription of antibiotics compared with office visits.TRIAL REGISTRATION: ClinicalTrials.gov NCT03474887; https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT03474887

Health care utilization following "digi-physical" assessment compared to physical assessment for infectious symptoms in primary care

Background: The use of chat-based digital visits (eVisits) to assess infectious symptoms in primary care is rapidly increasing. The "digi-physical" model of care uses eVisits as the first line of assessment while assuming a certain proportion of patients will inevitably need to be further assessed through urgent physical examination within 48 h. It is unclear to what extent this approach can mitigate physical visits compared to assessing patients directly using office visits.Methods: This pre-COVID-19-pandemic observational study followed up "digi-physical" eVisit patients (n = 1188) compared to office visit patients (n = 599) with respiratory or urinary symptoms. Index visits occurred between March 30th 2016 and March 29th 2019. The primary outcome was subsequent physical visits to physicians within two weeks using registry data from Skåne county, Sweden (Region Skånes Vårddatabas, RSVD).Results: No significant differences in subsequent physical visits within two weeks (excluding the first 48 h) were noted following "digi-physical" care compared to office visits (179 (18.0%) vs. 102 (17.6%), P = .854). As part of the "digital-physical" concept, a significantly larger proportion of eVisit patients had a physical visit within 48 h compared to corresponding office visit patients (191 (16.1%) vs. 19 (3.2%), P < .001), with 150 (78.5%) of these eVisit patients recommended some form of follow-up by the eVisit physician.Conclusions: Most eVisit patients (68.9%) with respiratory and urinary symptoms have no subsequent physical visits. Beyond an unavoidable portion of patients requiring urgent physical examination within 48 h, "digi-physical" management of respiratory and urinary symptoms results in comparable subsequent health care utilization compared to office visits. eVisit providers may need to optimize use of resources to minimize the proportion of patients being assessed both digitally and physically within 48 h as part of the "digi-physical" concept.Trial registration: Clinicaltrials.gov identifier: NCT03474887.Supplementary Information: The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1186/s12875-021-01618-2