Patient Opportunities to Self-Schedule in a Large Multisite, Multispecialty Medical Practice: Program Description and Uptake of 7 Unique Processes for Patients to Successfully Self-Schedule (and Reschedule) Their Medical Appointments.

Introduction: Patient self-scheduling of medical appointments is becoming more common in many medical institutions. However, the complexity of scheduling multiple specialties, following scheduling guidelines, and managing appointment access requires a variety of processes for a diverse inventory of self-schedulable appointment types.

Methods: From 7 unique patient self-scheduling methods, we captured counts of successfully self-scheduled and completed appointments.

Self-scheduling Medical Visits in a Multispecialty, Multisite Medical Practice: Complexity, Challenges, and Successes.

Background: Self-scheduling of medical visits is becoming more common but the complexity of applying multiple requirements for self-scheduling has hampered implementation. Mayo Clinic implemented self-scheduling in 2019 and has been increasing its portfolio of self-schedulable visits since then. Our aim was to show measures quantifying the complexity associated with medical visit scheduling and to describe how opportunities and challenges of scheduling complexity apply in self-scheduling.

Self-scheduling in a Large Multispecialty and Multisite Clinic: A Retrospective, Longitudinal Examination of Multiple Self-Scheduled Visit Types.

Background: Self-scheduling of medical visits is becoming available at many medical institutions. We aimed to examine the self-scheduled visit counts and rate of growth of self-scheduled visits in a multispecialty practice.

Methods: For 85 weeks extending from January 1, 2022 through August 24, 2023, we examined self-scheduled visit counts for over 1500 self-scheduled visit types.

Recommendation endpoints and safety of an online self-triage for depression symptoms.

Introduction: Online symptom checkers are a way to address patient concerns and potentially offload a burdened healthcare system. However, safety outcomes of self-triage are unknown, so we reviewed triage recommendations and outcomes of our institution's depression symptom checker.

Methods: We examined endpoint recommendations and follow-up encounters seven days afterward during 2 December 2021 to 13 December 2022.

Online Self-Triage of Ear or Hearing Concerns in a Patient Portal: Comparison of Subsequent Diagnoses and Hospitalizations to National Emergency Department and National Ambulatory Ear or Hearing Visits.

Background: Although online self-triage is easily accessible, little is known about the patients who use self-triage or their subsequent diagnoses. We compared ear/hearing self-triage subsequent diagnoses to ear/hearing visit diagnoses in emergency departments (ED) and ambulatory clinics across the United States.

Methods: We compared International Classification of Diseases version 10 (ICD10) coded diagnoses following online self-triage for ear/hearing concerns with those from national ED and ambulatory clinic samples.

Self-Triage Use, Subsequent Healthcare Utilization, and Diagnoses: A Retrospective Study of Process and Clinical Outcomes Following Self-Triage and Self-Scheduling for Ear or Hearing Symptoms.

Background: Self-triage is becoming more widespread, but little is known about the people who are using online self-triage tools and their outcomes. For self-triage researchers, there are significant barriers to capturing subsequent healthcare outcomes. Our integrated healthcare system was able to capture subsequent healthcare utilization of individuals who used self-triage integrated with self-scheduling of provider visits.

Self-Scheduling Process Efficiency and Utilization of Online Self-Scheduling of Lab Tests: A Retrospective Analysis of Self-Scheduled Appointments for COVID Testing.

Introduction: The COVID 19 pandemic increased the need for rapid and accurate diagnostic testing for COVID. When testing became available, a systems response was needed to efficiently accommodate the high-volume flow of patients who needed testing. Self-scheduling of COVID testing was developed to help patients safely and efficiently schedule their COVID testing online or with a mobile app.

The Effect of Automated Mammogram Orders Paired With Electronic Invitations to Self-schedule on Mammogram Scheduling Outcomes: Observational Cohort Comparison.

Background: Screening mammography is recommended for the early detection of breast cancer. The processes for ordering screening mammography often rely on a health care provider order and a scheduler to arrange the time and location of breast imaging. Self-scheduling after automated ordering of screening mammograms may offer a more efficient and convenient way to schedule screening mammograms.

Impact of Web-Based Self-Scheduling on Finalization of Well-Child Appointments in a Primary Care Setting: Retrospective Comparison Study.

Background: Web-booking of flights, hotels, and sports events has become commonplace in the travel and entertainment industry, but self-scheduling of health care appointments on the web is not yet widely used. An electronic health record that integrates appointment scheduling and patient web-based access to medical records creates an opportunity for patient self-scheduling. The Mayo Clinic developed and implemented a feature in its Patient Online Services (POS) web and mobile platform that allows software-managed self-scheduling of well-child visits.

The natural history of vertebral artery origin stenosis.

Background: We sought to determine the long-term survival and natural history of vertebral artery origin stenosis (VAOS) as it relates to stroke.

Methods: We retrospectively reviewed clinical data on patients admitted at a single institution for possible stroke between 2004 and 2007 and selected subjects who underwent angiography of the neck. We classified VAOS subjects as having "moderate" to "severe" (≥50%) occlusion.

Vertebral artery stenting for the treatment of bow hunter's syndrome: report of 4 cases.

Bow hunter's syndrome (BHS) is a rare condition resulting from vertebrobasilar insufficiency secondary to mechanical occlusion or stenosis of the vertebral artery (VA) due to head rotation. Traditionally, surgical intervention with C1-C2 fusion or VA decompression was the mainstay of therapy. Endovascular intervention was rarely performed to treat BHS.

Altruism between romantic partners: biological offspring as a genetic bridge between altruist and recipient.

When the cost of altruism is low, individuals are more likely to help non-kin (i.e., friends and romantic partners) than kin.