Drop in Gastroscopy - Experience After 9 Months

Peptic Ulcer Clinical Trial

Official title:

Drop in Gastroscopy - Experience After 9 Months

Clinical Trial Details — Status: Completed

Administrative data

• NCT number: NCT00977678
• Other study ID #: STHF-1
• Status: Completed
• Phase: N/A
• First received: May 15, 2009
• Last updated: December 29, 2009
• Start date: November 2009
• Est. completion date: December 2009

Study information

• Verified date: December 2009
• Source: Norwegian Department of Health and Social Affairs
• Contact: n/a
• Is FDA regulated: No
• Health authority: Norway: Norwegian Social Science Data Services
• Study type: Observational

Clinical Trial Summary

The capacity for endoscopical procedures in the Norwegian health system is low in comparison to demands from patients and family practitioners.

The studies aim is to evaluate the acceptance of a new concept: an open access gastroscopy clinic where patients can attend without a preceding appointment.

The investigators wish to evaluate:

1. Patient´s satisfaction.

2. General practitioner´s satisfaction.

3. Acceptance by the staff of the clinic.

Description:

The fact that access to specialized norwegian health care is characterized by a mismatch between system´s capacity and patient´s and refering physician´s demands, leads to delay of diagnostic investigations such as for example gastroscopies. Patients referred to gastroscopies have to wait 4 to 12 weeks to get an appointment. Consequence might be a delay in diagnosing of significant diseases such as ulcers or even malignancies. In addition the general practitioner is frequently forced to start a therapy by suspicion, and the patient has in numerable cases to stay off work.

In September 2008, the investigators started an open-access gastroscopy outpatient clinic, which allows the family practitioners in a defined area of the Telemark county to refer their patients to a gastroscopy without a preceding appointment. Patients from the other parts of the county and those, who need special service as i.e. interpreter, endocarditis prophylaxis etc. are referred conventionally and need an appointment.

Aim of the study is to evaluate the acceptance of both forms of outpatient clinics by both patients and general practitioners. In addition to that, the investigators will evaluate the acceptance of the open access clinic by the staff. Of special concern is the fear, that easier access might lead to a number of unnecessary procedures.

All patients from open access clinic and from the conventional clinic are asked to fill in a questionaire without any kind of personal identifying data such as name, age, date of the procedure etc., but with questions about their satisfaction with the procedure, the time from their first contact with their family practitioner to the procedure, the information prior and after the procedure. They will be asked if they did consume drugs against "ulcer-disease" or not.

In addition the referring practitioners are asked to fill in a questionnaire about their acceptance of the open access clinic, and to give the investigators some ideas about advantages and disadvantages from their point of view.

The staff is asked to give their experience especially according to the not calculable number of patients that attend to the clinic each day.

If the present study shows high acceptance of the open-access-offer by patients and health workers, the plan is to extend it to other patient groups and to perform studies to investigate the effects on the grade of diseases at the time of diagnosis and possible consequences for treatment and health economy.

Recruitment information / eligibility

• Status: Completed
• Enrollment: 213
• Est. completion date: December 2009
• Est. primary completion date: December 2009
• Accepts healthy volunteers: No
• Gender: Both
• Age group: 18 Years and older

Eligibility

Inclusion Criteria:

• all patients from 18 years of age.

Exclusion Criteria:

• age < 18,

• inability or unwillingness to cooperate.

Study Design

Observational Model: Case Control, Time Perspective: Prospective

Related Conditions & MeSH terms

• Esophageal Diseases
• Peptic Ulcer
• Stomach Diseases

Intervention

Other:
• open access gastroscopy
access to gastroscopy without preceding appointment
• Gastroscopy by appointment
Gastroscopy after preceding appointment in a conventional outpatient clinic

Locations

Country	Name	City	State
Norway	Department of Gastroenterology	Skien	Telemark

Sponsors (1)

Lead Sponsor	Collaborator
Norwegian Department of Health and Social Affairs

Country where clinical trial is conducted

Norway, 

Outcome

Type	Measure	Description	Time frame	Safety issue
Primary	Patient´s satisfaction		Day of the Gastrocopy	No
Secondary	General practitioner´satisfaction		One month after enrollment of patients	No