Evaluating the use of red flags by online symptom checkers.

ABSTRACT:

Background

Online Symptom Checkers (OSCs) are digital health tools providing triage, diagnostic, and self-care advice based on user reported symptoms. Amidst global trends of increasing demand and workforce shortages, OSCs have the potential to alleviate primary care workload. However, their ability to seek red flag symptoms, a critical marker of a safe consultation in primary care, remains unexplored. Using clinical vignettes, this study evaluates OSCs' performance in seeking red flag symptoms compared to Primary Care Physicians (PCPs).

Methods

Four OSCs (Ada, Babylon, Symptomate, Healthily) were evaluated using 51 clinical vignettes. Two standard setters used guidelines to determine which vignettes required emergency triage and identified the relevant red flags symptoms fo

SUBMITTER: Sutaria S 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12486864 | biostudies-literature | 2025 Oct

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature