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The Importance Of Nurse Telephone Triage

Some patients aren't familiar with the concept of nurse telephone triage. We suppose some doctors might not be, either, though that is unlikely. Just in case, though, we'll do a quick review of what it is before we go any further. In a nutshell, it's exactly what it sounds like. Patients call a nurse, tell them the situation, and that nurse then gives them some advice. That advice might be to set an appointment with a doctor, report to the emergency, or take advantage of a simple home treatment method. This triage can be offered either directly from a doctor's office or from a call center.

It isn't hard to see how patients benefit from this type of think. The peace of mind that comes from knowing that consultation with a medical professional is available to them any time they need it is tremendous. Furthermore, it can also save them money! It can save them time, too. Many patients have discovered that the nurses they've talked to on the phone have saved from unnecessary doctor's office visits. Of course, the most important benefit is the advice itself. In the final analysis, alleviated pain and suffering is still what it's all about. Often nurses are able to render exactly that over the telephone.

This benefits you, the doctor as well. While its true that you're there to take care of people when they're sick, your time is a lot easier to manage if people aren't coming to see you about things they could have easily treated themselves for at home. The problem is that people without any formal medical training aren't always able to make the right distinction between needing to see you and being able to provide adequate care for themselves. Thus having a nurse available to for them to talk to can help them make those decisions. It can also make them feel that your office really cares about them, which it does.

On a larger scale, nurse telephone triage benefits the entire health care industry. By reducing unnecessary visits to doctor's offices and emergency rooms, they ultimately reduce health care costs for everyone. Not only do they then make health care more affordable, they also make the delivery of it more efficient. Of course, that's the whole point of triage in general. Due to limited resources, time and supplies need to be prioritized. As a result, everyone can get the amount of health care that they need.

By: Kurt Duncan