The Right Care, for the Right Patient, at the Right Time, by the Right Provider: A Value-based Comparison of the Management of Ambulatory Patients With Acute Health Concerns in walk-in Clinics, Primary Care Physician Practices and Emergency Departments

A trained research assistant in collaboration with local clerks at each site will screen eligible patients after on-site registration or online scheduling, but prior to assessment by a physician, based on included presenting complaints. The research assistant or member of the care team, depending on the local rules, will approach the potentially eligible participants and present them the research project and information consent form. If the patient agrees to participate and is eligible, they will sign the information and consent form and the research assistant will take their vital signs (for onsite participants only).

Once the patient has been discharged, a research assistant will call the patient within 72 hours following the initial visit. This phone call will allow to i) ensure that gender, ethnicity, comorbidities and disposition plans are fully documented; and ii) use our patient-reported experience measure tool and administer a questionnaire on motivation for choosing one care setting over the other. Motivation will be classified in the 6 domains of the Conceptual Model of Emergency Department Use (Uscher-Pines et al. 2019). Participants will be asked to specify whether their choice of care setting was based on accessibility, convenience, their perception of the severity of illness, their beliefs and knowledge regarding these care settings, referral/advice from a care professional or an acquaintance, or on costs.

A follow-up phone call will be made to all participants 8 days after the initial visit to evaluate primary and secondary outcome metrics. Patient-reported outcome (primary) and cost measures will be completed by the participants at this moment.