The appropriateness of low-acuity cases referred for emergency ambulance dispatch following ambulance service secondary telephone triage: A retrospective cohort study.

Objective: Ambulance-based secondary telephone triage systems have been established in ambulance services to divert low-acuity cases away from emergency ambulance dispatch. However, some low-acuity cases still receive an emergency ambulance dispatch following secondary triage. To date, no evidence exists identifying whether these cases required an emergency ambulance.

Symptoms and feelings valued by patients after a percutaneous coronary intervention: a discrete-choice experiment to inform development of a new patient-reported outcome.

Objective: To inform the development of a patient-reported outcome measure, the aim of this study was to identify which symptoms and feelings following percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) are most important to patients.

Design: Discrete-choice experiment consisting of two hypothetical scenarios of 10 symptoms and feelings (pain or discomfort; shortness of breath; concern/worry about heart problems; tiredness; confidence to do usual activities; ability to do usual activities; happiness; sleep disturbance; dizziness or light-headedness and bruising) experienced after PCI, described by three levels (never, some of the time, most of the time). Preference weights were estimated using a conditional logit model.

Do patients have a say? A narrative review of the development of patient-reported outcome measures used in elective procedures for coronary revascularisation.

Purpose: Patient-reported outcome measures (PROMs) capture health information from the patient's perspective that can be used when weighing up benefits, risks and costs of treatment. This is important for elective procedures such as those for coronary revascularisation. Patients should be involved in the development of PROMs to accurately capture outcomes that are important for the patient.

Patient and case characteristics associated with 'no paramedic treatment' for low-acuity cases referred for emergency ambulance dispatch following a secondary telephone triage: a retrospective cohort study.

Background: Predicting case types that are unlikely to be treated by paramedics can aid in managing demand for emergency ambulances by identifying cases suitable for alternative management pathways. The aim of this study was to identify the patient characteristics and triage outcomes associated with 'no paramedic treatment' for cases referred for emergency ambulance dispatch following secondary telephone triage.

Methods: A retrospective cohort analysis was conducted of cases referred for emergency ambulance dispatch following secondary telephone triage between September 2009 and June 2012.

Exploring patient-reported outcomes following percutaneous coronary intervention: A qualitative study.

Background: Percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) is a common cardiac procedure used to treat obstructive coronary artery disease. Patient-centred care is a priority in cardiovascular health having been shown to increase patient satisfaction, engagement with rehabilitation activities and reduce anxiety. Evidence indicates that patient-centred care is best achieved by routine collection of patient-reported outcomes (PROs).