Authors (including presenting author) :
Yip WT(1)(3), Chow TL (1)(3), Chu L (1)(3), Wong KY (1)(3), Leung YK (1)(3), Leung YY (1)(2)(3)
Affiliation :
(1)North Lantau Hospital, (2) Princess Margaret Hospital, (3) Physiotherapy Department
Introduction :
In Hospital Authority (HA), patients with different stages and types of diseases that require Out-patient Physiotherapy (OPD) service will undergo triage process. The aim of triage process is to ensure efficient and timely service provision upon limitation of resource and manpower. In NLTH Physiotherapy Department, triage form is used for every individual case since Out-Patient service was established. To verify the quality of service and proper allocation of valuable man-power resource, the pilot triage audit was conducted during early October 2018.
Objectives :
1. To evulate the accuracy of triage process in NLTH.
2. To regular update the triage standard of NLTH Physiotherapy Department.
Methodology :
In this audit, 5% of triage cases were selected via random sampling method by computer in the period from 15th September 2018 to 15 October 2018. Physiotherapy Central Coordinating Committee (PTCOC) triage audit form was applicable in this audit. 4 physiotherapist I (PT I) colleges joined the audit. The audit result was reviewed by senior physiotherapist (SPT). Selected cases were randomly allocated to therapists. It is guarantted that original triage case therapist will not audit their triage cases.
Result & Outcome :
1. The triage audit raised colleagues’ awareness of suitable case allocation in different categories. 2. Triage criteria were aligned among colleagues. 3. Review of triage reduced the risk of delayed treatment in acute cases. Six out of seven audit criteria from ‘PTCOC triage audit form’ were applied in this audit (the one excluded was not applicable in this review). The mean score of this triage audit is 5.43 over 6 (90.5%). This reflects that the common practice in NLTH Physiotherapy Department is highly complies with PTCOC guideline. The result can act as the baseline for future revision.
Co-location with:
