Various different scientific studies have been conducted into Do I need to see a doctor?. These studies have taken a detailed look at the quality, use and effectiveness of the app. The most important conclusions drawn from these studies have been described below and we’ve also included a link to the study publications.
Based on the various different scientific studies conducted, we can conclude that Do I need to see a doctor?:
Quality
- is safe [Peters et al., 2014; Mout et al., 2015];
- gives the same advice as a triage nurse in 81% of all cases [Verzantvoort et al., 2018];
- doesn’t encourage overconsumption [Peters et al., 2014];
- is currently the best app in the Netherlands for the one-off checking of symptoms [NeLL];
Use
- responds to a need [BrandDoctors, 2015];
- is valued by both doctors and patients [Keizer et al., 2018; van der Velden et al., 2019];
- increases patients’ self-reliance [Keizer et al., 2018];
- has the potential to improve patient safety for parents with young children [Keizer et al., 2018];
Effectiveness
- has the potential to reduce medically unnecessary use of GP care outside of surgery hours [Giesen et al., 2017];
- can cost-effectively reduce pressure on healthcare services [van der Velden et al., 2019];
- of all self-triage users, between 89.8% and 98.3% follow the advice not to call the (out of hours) GP [MINDD, 2018; MINDD, 2020; Smits M, Giesen P, 2021].
- It’s possible to reduce the number of contacts and costs with the self-triage instrument [Smits M, Giesen P, 2021]