The effectiveness of the diversion of patients from an emergency department waiting room to a virtual…

Cohort studyOxford open digital health· 2026

The effectiveness of the diversion of patients from an emergency department waiting room to a virtual medical consultation.

Jennie Hutton, Clare Matheson, Suzanne Miller … Loren Sher

Emergency Department FlowCohort studyClinical practice

Virtual consultations were associated with successful diversion of most patients from the emergency department.

The effectiveness of the diversion of patients from an emergency department waiting room to a virtual medical consultation.

Jennie Hutton … Loren Sher

Oxford open digital health · 2026

Background

The increase in number of presentations to Emergency Departments (Emergency Departments) has continued to contribute to poor health outcomes worldwide.

Methods

This retrospective study was undertaken at a metropolitan Emergency Departments utilizing the public state-wide Victorian Virtual Emergency Department (Victorian Virtual Emergency Department) service.

n = 339 patients

76%

Results

76%

76% of patients offered virtual care were successfully diverted from the physical emergency department.

n = 339 patients

More results

The proportions of successful diversions from the physical Emergency Departments and subsequent presentations in the following 7 days were reported.

Eighty-one (24%) participants were advised to visit the Emergency Departments as planned.

More results

A total of 206 participants (61%) had no further contact with the Victorian Virtual Emergency Department or the Emergency Departments.

A total of 20 (6%) patients undertook a subsequent Victorian Virtual Emergency Department consultation, and 30 (9%) presented to the Emergency Departments in ˂7 days and two were directly admitted to a short-stay unit.

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Conclusion

Virtual consultation services can be integrated into the Emergency Departments waiting room, resulting in the successful diversion of patients with a small number of adverse events.

The effectiveness of the diversion of patients from an emergency department waiting room to a virtual medical consultation.

The effectiveness of the diversion of patients from an emergency department waiting room to a virtual medical consultation.

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