Schnoor Kyma, Versluis Anke, Chavannes Niels H, Talboom-Kamp Esther P W A
Public Health and Primary Care, Leiden University Medical Center, Leiden, Netherlands.
National eHealth Living Lab, Leiden, Netherlands.
JMIR Form Res. 2023 Jan 26;7:e42151. doi: 10.2196/42151.
eHealth potentially can make health care more accessible and efficient and help reduce the workload in primary health care. Homelab is an eHealth tool implemented in a general practice environment, and it offers relatively simple laboratory diagnostic tests without the referral of the general practitioner. After logging in this eHealth tool, patients select and order a diagnostic test based on their symptoms. The test results are presented online to the general practitioner and the patient.
This study aims to evaluate the use, usability, and user characteristics of Homelab. Further, it aims to evaluate whether Homelab replaces an appointment with the general practitioner.
Homelab has been implemented since May 2021 as a pilot in a Dutch general practice. The number of requests and the ordered diagnostic packages are monitored. After using Homelab, patients are invited to complete a short questionnaire. The questionnaire contains demographic questions and assesses usability using the System Usability Scale (10 items). In addition, questions about requesting an appointment with the general practitioner without Homelab are included. All data were anonymous.
The questionnaire was filled by 74 individual patients. The mean age of the patients was 40.33 (SD 12.11) years, and half of them were females (39/74, 53%). The majority of the patients were highly educated (56/74, 76%) and employed (53/74, 72%). Approximately 81% (60/74) of the patients reported that they would use Homelab again in the future and 66% (49/74) reported that they would have gone to the general practitioner if they had not used Homelab. The usability of Homelab was perceived higher by the younger age group (mean 73.96, SD 14.74) than by the older age group (mean 61.59, SD 14.37). In total, 106 test packages were ordered over 1 year, and the most requested diagnostic package was "Am I still healthy? I want to do my annual health checkup." Homelab was used the most during the months of the COVID-19 lockdown.
The use of Homelab, a digital self-service for ordering diagnostic tests, was monitored in this study, and its usability was perceived as above average. Our findings showed that patients are willing to use Homelab in the future and they would use it most of the time as a replacement for regular consultations. Homelab offers opportunities for more accessible and efficient health care for both the patient and the general practitioner.
电子健康有潜力使医疗保健更易获得且高效，并有助于减轻初级医疗保健的工作量。家庭实验室（Homelab）是在普通医疗环境中实施的一种电子健康工具，它提供相对简单的实验室诊断测试，无需全科医生转诊。登录此电子健康工具后，患者根据自身症状选择并订购诊断测试。测试结果会在线呈现给全科医生和患者。
本研究旨在评估家庭实验室（Homelab）的使用情况、可用性及用户特征。此外，旨在评估家庭实验室（Homelab）是否会取代与全科医生的预约。
自2021年5月起，家庭实验室（Homelab）在荷兰一家普通诊所作为试点实施。监测请求数量和订购的诊断套餐。使用家庭实验室（Homelab）后，邀请患者填写一份简短问卷。问卷包含人口统计学问题，并使用系统可用性量表（10项）评估可用性。此外，还包括关于在没有家庭实验室（Homelab）的情况下预约全科医生的问题。所有数据均为匿名。
74名个体患者填写了问卷。患者的平均年龄为40.33（标准差12.11）岁，其中一半为女性（39/74，53%）。大多数患者受过高等教育（56/74，76%）且有工作（53/74，72%）。约81%（60/74）的患者表示未来会再次使用家庭实验室（Homelab），66%（49/74）的患者表示如果没有使用家庭实验室（Homelab），他们会去看全科医生。年轻年龄组对家庭实验室（Homelab）可用性的感知（平均73.96，标准差14.74）高于老年年龄组（平均61.59，标准差14.37）。在1年时间里共订购了106个测试套餐，最常被请求的诊断套餐是“我还健康吗？我想进行年度健康检查”。在新冠疫情封锁期间的几个月里，家庭实验室（Homelab）的使用最为频繁。
本研究监测了用于订购诊断测试的数字自助服务家庭实验室（Homelab）的使用情况，其可用性被认为高于平均水平。我们的研究结果表明，患者未来愿意使用家庭实验室（Homelab），并且他们大多会将其作为常规咨询的替代方式。家庭实验室（Homelab）为患者和全科医生提供了更易获得且高效的医疗保健机会。
