Medical online consultation service in gastroenterology at the University Hospital Zurich

Figures & data

Table 1. Matrix of main categories and subcategories

Main category	Subcategory
1. User profile	Concerned person, age, gender, medical history, past physician contact
2. Content	Topic based on ICD-10
a. Present medical problem	Symptoms based on ICPC-2
b. Content of request	Treatment and therapies, diagnosis and cause of symptoms, information about a specific disease, information about diagnostic procedures, recommendation for a doctor appointment, explanation of findings, no specific question
c. Purpose of request	Reasons using the online consultation service
3. Responses of the online service	Author, kind of information, differential diagnosis, recommendation of consultation
4. Rating of the service	Benefit, clarity, fulfillment of expectations

Table 2. Distribution of the inquiries according to the ICD-10 chapters

ICD-10 Chapters	Diagnosis	n = 252	Frequency (%)
A00-09	Infectious bowel diseases	15	6.0
B15-19	Virus hepatitis	10	3.9
B55	Leishmaniosis	0	0.0
B65-83	Helminthiasis	4	1.6
C15-26	Neoplasia	24	9.5
C78	Secondary neoplasm	1	0.4
D12-13	Benign neoplasm	5	2.0
D37	Unclear neoplasm	1	0.4
K20-31	Esophagus, stomach, duodenum	21	8.3
K35-38	Appendix	0	0.0
K40-46	Hernia	9	3.6
K50-52	Non-infectious (inflammatory bowel disease)	18	7.1
K55-64	Other bowel diseases	42	16.7
K65-67	Peritoneum	1	0.4
K70-77	Liver	5	2.0
K80-87	Gallbladder, bile duct, pancreas	4	1.6
K90-93	Other diseases of the gastrointestinal tract	6	2.4
Q39-45	Congenital malformation	1	0.4
R10-19	Symptoms related to digestion and abdomen	69	27.4
	Not classified	16	6.3

Table 3. Frequency of the top 10 symptoms mentioned in n = 211 inquiries

ICPC-2-Code	Top 10 symptoms	Number of symptoms (n = 373)	Frequency in n = 211 inquiries (%)
D01	Abdominal pain or cramps, general	69	32.7
D11	Diarrhea	48	22.7
A04	General weakness	47	22.3
D02	Abdominal pain, epigastric	36	17.1
D18	Modification of digestion/bowel movements	35	16.6
D09	Nausea	34	16.1
D08	Flatulence	32	15.2
D06	Abdominal pain, other location	28	13.3
D07	Dyspepsia	24	11.4
D16	Rectal bleeding	20	9.5

Table 4. Reason for request

Reason	n = 362	Frequency (%)
Second opinion	123	48.8
Medical advice	63	25.0
Worry/insecurity/fear of a disease	59	23.4
Decision support	32	12.7
Contact points	26	10.3
Avoidance of a personal consultation with a physician	23	9.1
Financial and insurance aspects	18	7.1
Treatment options at the USZ	14	5.6
Family doctor absent	4	1.6

Table 5. Rating of the online service

	Benefit n = 106	Clarity n = 104	Fulfilled expectation n = 107
Very good and good	68 (64.1%)	99 (95.2%)	68 (63.6%)
Average	27 (25.5%)	4 (3.8%)	26 (24.3%)
Bad and very bad	11 (10.4%)	1 (1.0%)	13 (12.1%)