Time of the outpatient visit at Garrahan Hospital

The sector of Intermediate Risk is part of the outpatient clinics of Garrahan Hospital. In the sector patients with chronic diseases are seen, that have have consulted at other centers or other departments of the hospital, or that need a second opinion or a multidisciplinary approach. Objectives: To assess the professional time invested in care as a tool to evaluate the complexity of the patients, and to identify demographic variables and the care process. Material and methods: A cross-sectional, descriptive study on patients surveyed between July and December 2017 in the Sector of Intermediate Risk. The following data were recorded: Demographic features, care process, previous and final diagnoses, consultations, complementary studies, duration of the interview. A time of 65 minutes (median total time of the visit) was defined as the cut-off point to define two groups: Those with a long and a short interview. A comparative analysis was performed comparing both groups. Results: 400 patients were surveyed. Median age was 67.2 months; 80.1% were form the city of Buenos Aires and Greater Buenos Aires. Mean symptom duration was 4 months; 25.8% had an underlying disease; 62.5% of the patients was referred (either external or internally); referred by the local pediatrician: 30%; second opinions: 48,5%; total time of the interview: median 65 minutes (range, 12-460); simple diagnoses: 37.2%. Statistically significant variables for a long interview were: number of final diagnoses, place of origin, complicated diagnoses, and presence of underlying disease. Variables with a trend to a long interview were: symptom duration more than one month, age less than 24 months, a diagnosis of a tumor, polymalformation syndromes, sexual abuse, language/learning difficulties. Conclusions: The time of the interview is a concurrent factor for the assessment of the complexity of the care process. Identification of the variables that allow to anticipate these cases is relevant for the organization of the sector or other health care providers (AU)