As a pediatrician, are you looking for ways to make it easier for new parents to get the guidance they need for their children’s health without overwhelming your practice? With TriageLogic’s pediatric telephone triage services, not only will you give parents and caregivers 24/7 access to commonly asked questions and medical dispositions, but you’ll also free up the time and resources of your internal team. Plus, you could significantly reduce unnecessary ER visits.
First, let’s review why pediatricians typically receive more phone calls than primary care physicians, then how pediatric nurse triage can address these reasons.
New Parents Need Your Reassurance
One of the main reasons that pediatricians get so many calls is because new parents are nervous about how to handle their children’s medical symptoms, and they’re looking for guidance and reassurance to make sure they’re making the right decisions.
That said, the majority of their questions don’t usually require a pediatrician, and triage nurses are a great resource for answering them. For instance, you may have a parent who wants to know what the recommended Tylenol dosage is for a child under the age of 2, or why their six-month-old is experiencing a fever of 101°. Triage nurses can give both parents the appropriate feedback without having to wait for you to address them.
Beyond reassurance, here are the other main reasons why parents tend to call.
Reason #1: Immediate Access to Advice
Sometimes symptoms can be particularly worrying, and parents are looking for immediate answers about what health concerns they could indicate. Pediatric telephone triage puts parents in touch with registered nurses who can use triage protocols to evaluate symptoms and advise on their severity.
Reason #2: Prevention of Unnecessary ER Visits
There are also plenty of times where symptoms aren’t severe enough to warrant trips to the ER. Similar to above, triage protocols can help nurses determine if the ER is necessary, or if home care will suffice. Making this distinction is important, because it saves patients money and keeps emergency departments from reaching capacity for non-emergency reasons.
Reason #3: Guidance for Next Steps
Pediatric telephone triage nurses are trained to assess symptoms over the phone and provide guidance on the appropriate next steps. Besides recommending home care or the ER, triage nurses can also determine if parents should make appointments with your practice for their children to be evaluated in person, as well as schedule those appointments on your behalf.
Reason #4: Continuity of Care
When triage nurses schedule children for in-person appointments, everything their parents have discussed previously with the triage nurse will be made available in your electronic health record system. Our triage nurses use intuitive nurse triage software that can document all patient interactions and share that information directly with your in-house software. This ensures continuity of care, and is especially beneficial for patients who may be dealing with repeat health concerns or chronic conditions.
While pediatric telephone triage meets many of the needs of your parent callers, they also benefit your practice in three key ways.
Benefit #1: Convenience
No longer will your front desk staff, nurses, or you be playing phone tag with parents trying to address their concerns. Instead, parents and caregivers can get immediate answers to their questions and schedule doctors’ appointments as needed so that you and your nurses can focus on in-house care.
Benefit #2: Accessibility
By partnering with TriageLogic, you’ll have telephone nurse triage services available to your patients any time of the day. This accessibility is particularly valuable for parents who may have questions or concerns outside of regular office hours, or during weekends and holidays.
Benefit #3: Empowerment
Pediatric telephone triage empowers parents and caregivers by giving them the knowledge and tools to better manage their children’s health. Parents can feel more confident in recognizing symptoms and making informed decisions about the appropriate care.
Pediatric Telephone Triage: Let’s Talk About a Program
Pediatric telephone triage plays a crucial role in providing timely, accessible, and expert medical advice to parents and caregivers, ultimately ensuring the health and well-being of their children.
If your practice would like help managing high call volume and patient needs over the phone, our Nurse Triage On Call service is ready to assist! Contact us today to talk about a customized program, as well as the nurse triage software, protocols, and other tools that we use.
About TriageLogic
TriageLogic is a URAC-accredited, physician-led provider of top-quality nurse telehealth technology, remote patient monitoring, and medical call center solutions. Founded in 2007, the TriageLogic Group now serves more than 22,000 physicians and covers over 42 million lives nationwide.
