From pen-and-paper questionnaire to a computer-assisted instrument for self-triage in the ophthalmic emergency department: Process and validation

BACKGROUND/AIMS: The ISET (Instrument for SElf-Triage) is a validated pen-and-paper instrument for patient self-triage in ophthalmic emergency departments. The aim of the present study is to develop a validated computer-assisted ISET (ca-ISET) with a touch screen.

METHODS: In the emergency department of the Eye Hospital Rotterdam, the Netherlands, successive computer-assisted versions of the ISET were tested by patients visiting the emergency department. The versions were developed by iteratively prototyping, testing, analysing and refining the computer-assisted ISET. In three test cycles, 16, 53 and 75 patients ≥ 18 years old, visiting the emergency department for the first time with their ophthalmic complaint, were monitored while using the ca-ISET. They were debriefed, and their input was used to adapt the computer-assisted ISET. To validate the ca-ISET, a sensitivity outcome of .80 and a specificity of .70 was required (CI=95%). The ca-ISET sensitivity and specificity were tested by comparing ca-ISET triage outcome to triage outcome as decided by the regular triage assistant.

RESULTS: ISET accuracy increased from 0.69 in the first test to 0.79 in the third test. Sensitivity increased from 0.66 (CI 0.13-0.98) to 0.80 (0.51-0.95). Specificity increased from 0.69 (0.39-0.90) to 0.78 (0.65-0.88). To improve validity and usability, several adjustments were made in the text and the flow chart of the computer-assisted ISET.

CONCLUSIONS: A ca-ISET prototype was developed, with minor textual modification of the pen-and-paper version. The new ca-ISET was validated by comparing against triage decided by the regular triage assistant.