Telehealth Articles

Discover the latest in telehealth news and advancements at TriageLogic. Explore our weekly articles covering a breadth of topics, from our innovative technology to critical studies.

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An older patient uses a laptop to talk with their doctor after scheduling an appointment with telehealth nurse triage.

Improving Patient Care and Satisfaction: 5 Solutions for Telehealth Nurse Triage

Do your triage nurses have a hard time reporting patient symptoms and responding to them in the right order? Fortunately, there are several innovative tools that are available to address these issues and enhance your patient care. Let’s explore five key solutions for telehealth nurse triage. 1. MedMessage Assist™: Enhancing Symptom Reporting Nonclinical operators are usually the first people to assist patient callers long before

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A triage nurse sitting in front of a laptop in a medical office uses a headset to talk with a patient about their symptoms.

What Is Nurse Triage, and How Can It Benefit Your Practice?

Practice efficiency and patient care go hand in hand. One of the key factors that keeps these two in balance is nurse triage. What is nurse triage, and how does it benefit your practice? Below is a high-level overview of this crucial service, and why you should consider outsourcing it. What Is Nurse Triage? Nurse triage — specifically, telephone or telehealth nurse triage — is

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A group of physicians review automated nurse triage training solutions on a laptop.

Press Release: TriageLogic Announces Innovative “Triage Assist” Solution for Nurse Training and Quality Assurance

Due to budget restrictions, many healthcare organizations, physicians’ practices, and medical call centers are finding it difficult to train new triage nurses and oversee the work of seasoned ones. This is particularly problematic when it comes to evaluating their phone calls with patients: on average, only three to five calls per nurse per month can be screened for accuracy. This is why TriageLogic is proud

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A patient adjusts a wearable sensor on their arm so that data is received and billable with CPT codes for RPM.

Mastering Medicare RPM Reimbursement: Your Guide to CPT Codes for RPM

New technologies are revolutionizing how doctors can perform chronic care management (CCM). Remote patient monitoring (RPM) is one of them, giving doctors and nurses the ability to track patients’ health while those patients are at home. For this technology to be financially successful for your practice, your workers must understand the most recent CPT codes for RPM to get reimbursed, as well as the services

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Solutions for Physician Work-Life Balance: A happy physician leans back in his chair in his office, thanks to using nurse triage tools that have given him more time to focus on care.

The Heart of Healthcare: Solutions for Physician Work-Life Balance

Physician work-life balance is an important topic in today’s fast-paced medical landscape. The demands of patient care, administrative tasks, and personal responsibilities often leave physicians feeling overwhelmed and at risk of burnout. In fact, research shows burnout among physicians spiked to 63% back in 2021. In the spirit of Valentine’s Day, we present solutions for physician work-life balance to save time and increase revenue. These

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A doctor verifies an accurate nurse triage history with a nurse by reviewing her patient notes on a tablet.

Get an Accurate Nurse Triage History Every Time: Introducing TriageLogic’s History Assist Module

Offices today are struggling to maintain qualified support staff who can assist patients when they have medical questions or symptoms. Currently, nonclinical team members take messages for nurses, or patients leave voicemails for nurses. Those nurses are then pressured to make good decisions about the proper levels of care, while documenting each case thoroughly for provider review later. Providers will often have to review each

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A woman sitting in bed at night phones her doctor's office while experiencing a sudden-onset headache, one of several symptoms that patients call about after normal office hours.

Nurse Triage by the Numbers: Top 20 Symptoms That Patients Call About

What are the main concerns that people face when doctors’ offices are closed? How serious do they tend to be? Because there is a wide range of medical conditions that patients may experience, it’s the responsibility of triage nurses to understand those symptoms and guide patients to the most appropriate care. Below we explore the top 20 symptoms that patients call about most. A Note

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A nurse checks the vitals recorded by a remote

Doctors Are Hesitating to Adopt Remote Patient Monitoring. Here’s How They Can Do So Successfully

Although the benefits of remote patient monitoring (RPM) for patients and providers have been well documented, many doctors’ offices have yet to adopt a program. The reasons for this often include poor past experiences with new technology: namely, cumbersome user interfaces, questionable data accuracy, drawn-out implementations, and surprise costs. If you’re a physician who feels hesitant for these same reasons, we can empathize. That’s why

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Physician after-hours nurse triage represented by a nurse working on a laptop in a hospital office at night.

Continuity of Care: 9 Ways Physician After-Hours Nurse Triage Enhances Patient Care

Discover the transformative potential of physician after-hours nurse triage, a crucial asset for medical practices aiming to optimize patient care outside regular office hours. While many practices strive to manage patient needs in-house, the reality is that resources are often stretched thin, leading to gaps in patient support. By outsourcing to a dedicated call center staffed with registered nurses, your practice can ensure comprehensive coverage

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TriageLogic Outdoor headshots of Charu Raheja and Ravi Raheja.

Conversation With Our CEO and CTO: Revolutionize Your Telehealth Experience With Cutting-Edge Tools in 2024

TriageLogic is releasing several new and exciting tools to improve all areas of telehealth in your organization: medical scripting for nonclinical staff, simulated nurse triage training, automated triage assistance with history note taking, and automated quality oversight, to name a few. In addition, nurse triage notes can be integrated with all major electronic medical record (EMR) systems, including EPIC, Cerner, and Athena. TriageLogic’s product lines

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Concept for healthy triage nurses during the holidays: a stethoscope is packed into a Santa hat already filled with presents, an ornament, a red berry, and a pine tree branch.

Holiday Tips for Healthy Triage Nurses

Maintaining a healthy lifestyle during the holidays can be difficult for healthcare workers, and triage nurses are no exception. That’s why we’ve put together a helpful list of tips they can follow to make sure they stay as safe as the patient callers they assist. Here’s how you can support healthy triage nurses. Embrace Mindful Eating Holiday festivities often bring a wide range of indulgent

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Medical liability concept for initial patient messages: a heart monitor graph is superimposed over a stethoscope and gavel.

Initial Patient Messages: What’s Missing That You Don’t Know About?

Healthcare organizations depend on efficient, reliable communication, especially when it comes to taking initial patient messages. These are often the first points of contact that patients have to express their concerns and receive guidance on care. But for nonclinical staff, deciphering patient symptoms over the phone can be challenging. Let’s talk about what your nonclinical team may be missing when they’re interacting with patient callers,

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A child standing in their room puffs their cheeks and closes their eyes while experiencing pediatric breath-holding.

How Nurse Triage Can Help Parents Understand and Manage Pediatric Breath-Holding

Pediatric breath-holding is a phenomenon that both perplexes and concerns parents and caregivers. Like the name implies, it’s when children hold their breath for a brief period of time, sometimes to the point that they pass out. Breath-holding usually follows feelings of anger, surprise, or pain. It can be demonstrated by children as young as six months, or as old as six years. While this

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A nurse wearing a stethoscope reviews nurse triage books on her tablet.

Essential Nurse Triage Books and Tools to Improve Your Patient Outcomes

Effective and accurate nurse triage is a cornerstone of health care. One of the main reasons for its success comes from the renowned protocols established by Barton Schmitt, MD, FAAP and David Thompson, MD, FACEP. Read below to learn about five essential nurse triage books, and how they relate to TriageLogic’s industry-leading tools. What Are Nurse Triage Protocols? Schmitt-Thompson Triage Protocols are considered the gold

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A blue-and-white design of a pair of lungs glows while hovering above two outstretched hands of a physician.

What Are Blue Bloaters and Pink Puffers, and How Can Nurse Triage Address Them?

Blue bloaters and pink puffers are two terms that were adopted back in the 1950s to describe two phenotypes (observable symptoms) of patients suffering from chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). Specifically, blue bloaters referred to chronic bronchitis, while pink puffers meant emphysema. Since that time, physicians have transitioned away from using these terms. Read on to learn why, and how telephone nurse triage can help

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Headshot of TriageLogic's CEO, Charu Raheja.

TriageLogic’s Dr. Charu Raheja Featured in Florida 500

TriageLogic is excited to announce that its CEO, Dr. Charu Raheja, has been selected by the Florida 500 as one of the most influential executives in the state. As noted on its website, the purpose behind the Florida 500 is to provide recognition for business leaders through an “immense, year-long research initiative by the editors of Florida Trend.” Read on to learn more about this

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A sick patient blows their nose while talking on speaker phone with a triage nurse.

Better Ways for Your Practice to Manage Patient Phone Calls This Winter

It’s no secret that when temperatures drop, medical offices experience a surge in patient phone calls — particularly when it comes to the flu, COVID, and respiratory syncytial virus (RSV). Is your practice prepared to take on more patient requests during the winter months? Today, we’re sharing our solutions to help manage patient phone calls. Front Desk Message Intake When a patient calls a medical

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A stethoscope wraps around a piggy bank to represent lower healthcare costs.

Technology Solutions to Lower Healthcare Costs for Insurance Companies

As we know, healthcare costs take a huge toll on the American health system. As reported by CMS, U.S. healthcare spending grew 2.7 percent in 2021, reaching $4.3 trillion or $12,914 per person. Providers aren’t the only professionals in the healthcare industry who can control healthcare costs. Health plans like yours can optimize their spending by adding services that decrease the use of more expensive,

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Nonclinical operators in a call center use MedMessage Assist on their computers to lower malpractice liability.

Press Release: TriageLogic Announces MedMessage Assist Tool That Protects Doctors’ Offices From Malpractice Liability

When medical providers miss patient phone calls, does that make them liable for poor health outcomes? That’s the argument being made against one Wisconsin doctor facing malpractice complaints after neglecting to respond in a timely manner to their patient, who later died. On the other hand, better medical message intake by front desk receptionists can improve patients’ access to care, ensure timely callbacks from doctors,

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A child rolls over in bed after having urinated on white sheets.

Guidance for Triage Nurses About Bed-Wetting Concerns: Navigating Conversations on Nocturnal Enuresis

Bed-wetting, also known as nocturnal enuresis, is a frequent point of discussion in pediatric triage. Triage nurses tend to receive calls that involve caregivers looking for advice and a better understanding about underlying causes. Read below for tips designed to arm triage nurses in these interactions. Your nurses can use them to speak confidently with caregivers, provide preliminary guidance, and reassure them about bed-wetting concerns.

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A triage nurse smiles while at her workstation giving care advice for patients over the phone.

Schmitt-Thompson and TriageLogic Share Commitment to Up-to-Date Care Advice for Patients

Health care is constantly evolving. We’re not simply talking about new discoveries and medical procedures; we’re also referring to providing better care advice for patients who are trying to understand their symptoms. That’s why it’s critical that organizations like Schmitt-Thompson and TriageLogic continually update their information and upgrade their services. When providers have access to evidence-based solutions, they can better educate patients, improve engagement, and

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A patient waves to their provider through the screen of their laptop computer during a telehealth visit as part of remote health care.

Revolutionizing Patient Access With Remote Health Care

In the world of medical care, accessibility is paramount. Traditional healthcare models may limit access due to geography, patient finances, or a lack of qualified medical professionals. Remote health care is the solution to bridge these gaps. Today, we explore how it has ushered in a new era of patient access, focusing on nurse triage, remote patient monitoring, and real-time symptom analysis for medical message

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Two nonclinical operators man the front desk at a medical practice and perform medical message intake.

This Healthcare Tool Can Empower Staff with Medical Message Intake

The healthcare industry continues to suffer a labor shortage that could have considerable long-term effects, with some estimates showing the United States could have a deficit of 124,000 physicians in the next decade. But finding enough doctors and nurses isn’t the only concern. Practices are also experiencing difficulty maintaining nonclinical staff for their medical message intake. These positions — either at the front desks of

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Symptom screening tools concept: a medical provider sitting at a desk uses a pen to checkmark boxes hanging in the air.

Symptom Screening Tools Vs. Nurse Triage

When patients call their doctor’s offices, the first people to greet them are usually front desk receptionists at those practices, or nonclinical phone operators in call centers. Neither are certified medical professionals, which means that they aren’t trained to give patients feedback about diagnoses or treatment. Some practices have implemented symptom screening tools to have nonclinical operators give patients initial health reviews before speaking with

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Two nurses review triage protocols on a desktop computer.

More Than Just Protocols: Critical Thinking in Nurse Triage Is Essential

While Schmitt-Thompson triage protocols are highly effective for evaluating patients’ symptoms, critical thinking in nurse triage is a vital skill providers must use when determining the appropriate dispositions for care. That’s the takeover from a recent newsletter released by Schmitt-Thompson, which you can read in full here. Below, we review several ways that nurses can practice critical thinking skills. Using Protocols as a Guideline Schmitt-Thompson

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A sick student leans their chin against their notebook while writing and cradling a mug.

Back to School: What’s the Difference Between COVID-19, Flu, and Colds? Using Schmitt-Thompson Protocols to Evaluate Student Symptoms

As students return to the classroom, it’s common for a certain percentage to contract and spread diseases. Students recognize this fact, and — up until COVID-19 — probably gave it little thought. Now, three years into the pandemic, more parents and students are concerned about knowing the difference between COVID-19, flu, and colds. We’ve discussed before how Schmitt-Thompson protocols are valuable to college campus health

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Student behavioral health outcomes concept: a sad student leaning against a window uses her smartphone to call her college's nurse triage line.

Back to School: Improving College Student Behavioral Health Outcomes With Schmitt-Thompson Protocols

It’s no surprise that more colleges are making student health a priority. Young adults of this generation have had to deal with more types of mental health concerns like depression and anxiety, not to mention a potential fall wave of COVID-19. To improve college student behavioral health outcomes, campus health centers need to have the best tools available for evaluating student symptoms, particularly over the

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A nonclinical staff member at a front desk takes phone messages for a medical office.

How Do You Improve Phone Messages in a Medical Office and Avoid Mistakes?

Have you ever received a message that a patient needed a prescription refill, only to find out that it was something more serious? Or perhaps your nurses weren’t given enough information to identify the severity of a patient’s symptoms? While these may not seem like immediate concerns, these types of medical message errors have the potential for dangerous (even fatal) results for those patients, not

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A patient uses a smartphone to check her glucose levels measured by an RPM device attached to her shoulder as part of type 1 diabetes management.

Type 1 Diabetes Management: Improve Patient Care and Increase Revenue with Remote Patient Monitoring

For endocrinologists, type 1 diabetes management comes with its own set of challenges. Foremost among them is the constant need to monitor each patient’s blood sugar levels, which involves significant time commitments from healthcare providers and staff. For most treatment plans, patients must contact their endocrinologists’ offices when they identify abnormal blood sugar levels so that office staff can evaluate their requests and notify doctors

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Morbidity and mortality concept: a patient in a medical bed clutches their chest, which is illuminated red.

Nurse Triage for Morbidity and Mortality: Save Lives and Lower Healthcare Costs

We recently discussed why a nurse triage service is important for helping patients avoid unnecessary ER visits. The same holds true for those patients who have serious conditions, but hesitate to seek emergency care. Read on to learn why implementing nurse triage can reduce patient morbidity and mortality, and lower the associated healthcare costs at the same time. Why Patients Delay Care Many patients can

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A nurse hands a pill bottle to a patient at the ER.

Nurse Triage Saves Unnecessary ER Visits

Every year, plenty of people mistakenly think their symptoms are serious enough to warrant a trip to the emergency department. However, data shows that in two-thirds of these cases, ED visits are “avoidable” and “not an actual emergency.” While the mindset of “better safe than sorry” may make sense to patients, their unnecessary ER visits can actually be problematic — to them, other patients, and

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A nonclinical operator demonstrates how to improve medical message intake by using MedMessage Assist on a computer while talking with a patient over the phone.

Case Study: Improving Medical Message Intake With Augmented Intelligence for Your Operators

How accurate are the medical messages that your nonclinical operators send to your providers? According to Gilman and Bedigian, LLS, a law firm that specializes in medical malpractice, one of the biggest factors that leads to a lawsuit is when operators don’t send critical messages to doctors immediately. In fact, we have found that out of all emergency messages, about 30 percent do not accurately

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A doctor wearing a white coat and stethoscope uses a tablet to access a patient's EHR.

Integrate Nurse Triage Software with EHRs: Advances in a Modular Triage System

Today’s push for all-things-digital extends well into healthcare, particularly when it involves nurse triage and electronic health records. Whereas triage nurses were once strictly phone-based roles, they now utilize telehealth with patients to discuss symptoms over video conferencing, or review patient vitals through remote patient monitoring (RPM). These new services are often viewed positively, but they do raise concerns from some providers who are looking

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Nurse triage quality assurance concept: a small metal stethoscope is set in front of wooden blocks with green stars that represent a ratings system.

Enhancing Quality and Safety in Nurse Triage: Introducing Automated QA For Nurse Calls

Thanks to the expansion of telehealth, patient interactions are being conducted increasingly via phone, video chat, and texting solutions. At the forefront of this technology shift are triage nurses, whose roles are indispensable for evaluating patient symptoms and asking questions to determine the right levels of care. But with increasing staff shortages, how do doctors and medical call centers adequately measure nurse triage quality assurance?

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Dehydrated patients concept: a man sits upright in bed, holds a glass of water, and rests his head against his other hand.

Nurse Triage Advice for Dehydrated Patients

As we celebrate July 4th and spend more time outdoors, one thing to be particularly aware of is the risk of becoming dehydrated. Even for the portions of the US that aren’t affected by dangerous heat waves, hot weather can still pose a risk. For triage nurses, it’s also vital that they know what protocols to use when this condition may be affecting their patient

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TriageLogic A nonclinical call center operator talks with a patient while using TriageLogic's software to avoid common medical message intake challenges.

Enhancing Patient Triage: Overcoming Medical Message Intake Challenges

Medical message intake challenges, such as those related to properly vetting patient calls, continue to pose significant obstacles in urgent care settings. Despite its prevalence, the traditional red flag screening system has inherent limitations in accurately assessing patient symptoms and gauging their severity due to potential reliance on incomplete information provided by patients. As a result, delays in patient care can occur. To address these

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TriageLogic Nonclinical operators wearing blue shirts and headsets sit in a row taking patient phone calls in a call center.

Do you Have Operators Taking Medical Messages? New Software Makes It Easier to Train, Ensures Relevant Messages, and Increases Doctor Satisfaction

Traditional training for nonclinical operators to perform medical message intake often requires about a month: first, a week to learn how to be an operator, then an additional two for memorizing industry terminology, keywords, and patient symptoms that could be red flags for greater health complications. This is usually a manual process with operators who have no medical training, which means it’s both time-consuming and

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TriageLogic RPM compliance concept: recorded patient vitals like heart rate and oxygen saturation are displayed over an image of a nurse reviewing them on a tablet.

An Essential Checklist for Evaluating Your RPM Vendor

Remote patient monitoring (RPM) has revolutionized healthcare by enhancing access to care, improving patient outcomes, and reducing provider costs, particularly when it comes to chronic care management. Successful RPM programs offer clarity over patient data, including vitals like blood pressure and pulse ox, to identify early warning signs of potential health conditions. As this innovative technology continues to evolve, however, providers must be sure to

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A hand types on a laptop keyboard while the word "AI" shines over it, along with the image of cogs and a speaking bubble.

TriageLogic’s Dr. Ravi Raheja to Discuss Using Technology to Assist Triage Nurses at HCCT Conference

There are those in the healthcare community who may feel uneasy by the prospect of artificial intelligence (AI) being used in their respective fields. In our experience, however, technology can be used to assist in healthcare to make jobs more efficient for your staff and give providers more time with patients. That’s the focus behind an upcoming session co-presented by TriageLogic’s CTO, Dr. Ravi Raheja,

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TriageLogic Triage Nurse lending helping hand

Switching Nurse Triage Companies? Here Are the Key Features to Evaluate

Nurse triage is essential for managing patient calls both during and after normal business hours. If you outsource this service and aren’t satisfied with their current performance, you may decide to review other available options. Issues to consider include how triage nurses interact with your patients, whether they use appropriate protocols, customize your orders, etc. Here are the key features you should consider when evaluating

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TriageLogic AI White Paper cover image of nonclinical operators taking patient phone calls for a healthcare provider's office.

Press Release: New White Paper From TriageLogic Helps Operators Improve the Accuracy of Medical Messages to Providers

TriageLogic has released a white paper that shares data they’ve compiled about the use of artificial intelligence (AI) and augmentation to benefit medical message intake. Normally, when patients call their providers, they’re first greeted by nonclinical operators, like front desk agents or call center representatives. These operators determine the reasons why patients are calling, and forward those messages to the appropriate nurses or providers for review.

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TriageLogic A telephone triage nurse reviews her performance on her laptop with an instructor who stands beside her.

Comprehensive Approach to Nurse Training for Telephone Triage

Telephone triage nursing is a specialized sector in the healthcare industry that requires a unique skill set. Training nurses for telephone triage is a rigorous process that must take into account candidate selection, self-paced learning, simulated practice, education from experienced professionals, and supervised practice. This article will walk you through each of these critical training stages. 1. Selecting Suitable Candidates The first step in the

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TriageLogic Three phone representatives sit in a row inside a managed nurse triage call center.

TriageLogic Offers Services to Help Triage Call Centers Optimize Their Growth

The demand for triage nurses is constantly growing, as is the opportunity for nurses to grow their nurse triage call center. The main challenge nurse triage services encounter is maintaining their services and handling the administrative burdens of business growth. If that includes yours, TriageLogic wants to help you overcome these obstacles and scale your operations through our managed nurse triage services program. It allows

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TriageLogic A nurse wearing a stethoscope around their neck uses a pen to fill out a paper form.

TriageLogic’s Nurse Triage Service Receives Glowing Reviews From Client: “A 20 Out of 10.”

At TriageLogic, our primary focus has always been to help patient callers understand the severity of their symptoms and the best way to address them. That’s why, when our nurse triage service received a glowing evaluation from a medical auditor, we reached out to discuss which aspects were the most effective from their perspective. Read on to learn more about their rave review when posing

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A triage nurse uses a tablet to access AI training with simulated patients, represented by medical icons, DNA strands, and pills hovering in the air.

3 Reasons Why Triage Nurses Need to Train With Simulated Patients

Simulated patients can take many forms, yet they all serve the same purpose: to provide a safe and controlled environment for nurses to practice their skills. Nurses can make mistakes and learn from them without putting real patients at risk. Some simulated patients have been standardized patients (SPs) who have been coached so well that clinicians may not know the difference. Now, the development of

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TriageLogic A nurse triage uses her training to talk with a patient over the phone.

8 Skills That Are Essential to Your Nurse Triage Training

Triage nurses play a critical role in helping patients determine whether they should be seen in-person by a doctor, or can manage their symptoms at home. But triage education can also be a challenge, especially because nurses must understand the best ways to assist patients they cannot see. Some medical schools offer nurse triage training, but there are several skills that may not be taught

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TriageLogic A nurse at a nurse's station in a hospital calls a patient back from a note they received from medical answering services, while a doctor reviews additional information beside her.

Why Should Doctors Care More About the Quality of Their Medical Answering Services?

Doctors receive patient messages for a variety of reasons, including health concerns, prescription refill or appointment requests, and questions about test results. Medical answering services have become an essential part of the healthcare system for fielding these messages, while providing round-the-clock communication and support to patients and providers. Medical answering services allow doctors and nurses to prioritize their time and focus on more complex and

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TriageLogic AI White Paper cover image of nonclinical operators taking patient phone calls for a healthcare provider's office.

Press Release: New White Paper From TriageLogic Helps Operators Improve the Accuracy of Medical Messages to Providers

TriageLogic has released a white paper that shares data they’ve compiled about the use of artificial intelligence (AI) and augmentation to benefit medical message intake. Normally, when patients call their providers, they’re first greeted by nonclinical operators, like front desk agents or call center representatives. These operators determine the reasons why patients are calling, and forward those messages to the appropriate nurses or providers for review.

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TriageLogic AI in Healthcare concept: a digital silhouette of a patient with arms and legs outstretched is orbited by medical icons.

AI in Healthcare: A Valuable Tool for Nurse Triage, But Not a Replacement

The advent of artificial intelligence (AI) has revolutionized several industries, and healthcare is no exception. AI applications have already proven invaluable when it comes to diagnostics, patient care, and personalized treatment plans. While these are all certainly impressive, it should be noted that AI in healthcare is still only a tool, not a replacement for the unique human qualities of interaction and empathy. One area

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TriageLogic A nonclinical message taker works at the front desk of a medical practice.

Why Don’t Nonclinical Message Takers Have Protocols Like Triage Nurses?

When a patient calls their doctor’s office, the following series of events usually takes place: a nonclinical operator greets the patient and takes a message about why they called; the operator forwards the message to a triage nurse; the triage nurse calls the patient back and uses Schmitt-Thompson protocols to evaluate their symptoms. These protocols use the severity of those symptoms to determine whether the

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TriageLogic A group of nurses from a nurse triage business take a photo together outside.

How to Start — and Grow — Your Nurse Triage Business

Have you recently created a telephone or telehealth nurse triage business, or are you looking to expand one that you currently operate? Doing either may seem difficult, which is why TriageLogic has developed solutions that can help. While these are available for you to read in more detail below, we’d also like to first provide a recap for those who may need one about what

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TriageLogic Concept for inaccurate medical messages: a stethoscope and judge's gavel represent liability for medical answering services.

What Is the True Cost of Inaccurate Medical Messages?

If you use a medical answering service to manage your patient calls, do you have a means of measuring their accuracy? We ask because the cost of inaccurate medical messages can be substantial when they lead to severe health outcomes for patients. Let’s review why medical answering services need help, what solutions are available, and how you can reduce liability for your organization. Why Medical

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TriageLogic Drs. Ravi and Charu Raheja accept an award on stage at GrowFL.

TriageLogic Reflects on 2023 Initiatives Amid GrowFL Celebration

TriageLogic was excited to attend last week’s celebration for GrowFL’s Florida Companies to Watch. As one of the top 50 selected honorees, we’re proud to be recognized as a business that’s projected for significant growth in the coming years, anticipated both in terms of company size and in our product offerings. Read on to learn more about the purpose behind GrowFL, and the powerful initiatives

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TriageLogic A nurse wearing scrubs and a stethoscope forms a heart shape out of her hands to support heart health.

Important Tips for Triage Nurses When Addressing Heart Health for Patient Callers

February may be American Heart Month, but it’s an aspect of health care that’s relevant year-round. According to the CDC, cardiovascular disease is still the leading cause of death for men and women in the United States, which means your triage nurses need to know how to address patient callers who are experiencing heart health-related symptoms. Here are our suggestions for the best ways to

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Healthcare AI concept: A digital silhouette of a human face is shown beside an array of healthcare icons, including a DNA helix, magnifying glass, needle, and pill.

Southern Voices Sees Remarkable Accuracy for Their Medical Answering Services After Adopting an Artificial Intelligence Module to Guide Operators

Every time a patient calls your practice, you want to make sure that their symptoms are noted fully and addressed in the appropriate window of time. However, this may not always happen when they speak with nonclinical operators (those who man front desks or work at medical call centers) because operators may not recognize important follow-up questions to ask based on the symptoms that are

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TriageLogic A triage nurse uses AI training software on her laptop.

TriageLogic Announces Nurse Triage AI Training for Hospitals and Organizations

TriageLogic is excited to offer a new, two-week course for triage nurse trainees. It expands on the concepts and procedures touched on briefly in its Learning Center, while incorporating elements of machine learning: a nurse triage AI training simulation that mimics live patient callers. Before explaining how this AI training works, here is a brief overview about nurse triage, and what its core benefits are

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Triage Nurses Can Now Use Secure Chat With Doctors to Improve Patient Care and Efficiency

Traditional HIPAA-secure chat features require doctors to download apps to their phones and then register them before sending and receiving messages. Most of these secure messaging apps also cost anywhere from eight (8) to twelve (12) dollars per doctor on a monthly subscription. TriageLogic has taken a different approach by offering secure texting and chat for free as part of our after-hours nurse triage. Additionally,

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TriageLogic A nonclinical front desk staff member at a practice handles medical answering services over the phone while a doctor talks with a patient sitting in the lobby.

Tips for Medical Answering Services to Improve Agent Satisfaction and Message Intake

Many practices hire nonclinical staff to answer phones and pass along medical messages to nurses and physicians. In addition, companies known as medical answering services may be contracted by doctors’ offices to handle overflow calls during the day, as well as those that come in after business hours. While their work is very beneficial, maintaining these operators can come with a few challenges. Here are

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Remote Nurse Triage

Care News – Winter 2022/2023

Welcome to TriageLogic’s Care News! In this issue, we discuss: Our latest breakthrough in medical scripting using artificial intelligence. Our digital tools to address high call volumes of RSV, flu, and COVID. Our efforts to help the local community. How providers can overcome the challenges of implementing an RPM program. Tips for triage nurses when dealing with difficult patient callers. TL Care Newsletter Letter From

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TriageLogic A mother and child use a tablet for a video call with their family doctor for telemedicine.

What Types of Telemedicine Should You Add to Your Practice?

While telehealth and telemedicine were both expanding in use prior to COVID-19, it’s safe to say that the pandemic pushed them to the forefront of care. In many ways, these have been widely accepted among medical professionals as effective alternatives to in-person appointments. Obviously, most health screenings and tests can’t be performed remotely, but there are several types of healthcare services that can. Here are

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Headshot of TriageLogic's CEO, Charu Raheja.

Letter From Our CEO: Healthcare Technology and Medical Scripting Are Key Drivers for TriageLogic’s Solutions

Nurse triage has always been about guiding patients to better health outcomes. Our registered nurses are available 24/7, and they guide patients using Schmitt-Thompson protocols and custom doctor orders. In addition, our myTriageChecklist software gives office nurses the ability to follow protocols and properly document interactions and symptoms when patients call their doctors. While we frequently tout the benefits of outsourcing this service and software,

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TriageLogic Dr. Ravi Raheja sits with Adrienne Houghton at a table interview with Buzz TV.

TriageLogic’s Dr. Ravi Raheja Talks Nurse Triage With Jacksonville Buzz

Dr. Ravi Raheja, CTO and Medical Director at TriageLogic, had the pleasure of sitting down with Adrienne Houghton with Jacksonville Buzz to discuss the nature of nurse triage, its influence on telehealth, and what he sees for the future of healthcare technology. You can watch the full interview below, or read on to learn more about some of the particulars. The History of TriageLogic When

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Triagelogic Headshot of Ravi Raheja

Letter From Our CTO: Improve Medical Message Intake and Patient Engagement Despite RSV, Flu, and Nurse Shortage

Healthcare networks may have made it past what was arguably the worst of the COVID-19 pandemic, but they’re still experiencing challenges when it comes to available resources and medical staffing. This is in no small part due to the surge in RSV and flu cases this year, coupled with a growing nurse shortage. However, in conjunction with our long-standing, outsourced nurse triage services, TriageLogic offers

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TriageLogic An angry patient caller sits on his couch at home and grimaces while yelling into a mobile phone in his hand.

How Triage Nurses Should Respond to Frustrated and Angry Patient Callers

The holidays certainly don’t have a shortage of healthcare needs. Many of those will be communicated by way of frustrated or angry patient callers for your nursing staff. Here are the steps your organization can take in order to manage those calls and ensure that patients still see the appropriate providers in the appropriate windows of time. Calls From Angry Patients When any patient loses

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TriageLogic Christmas hats adorn a hand weight and an orange, beside body measuring tape, candy canes, and a party horn.

How to Maintain Healthy Habits During the Holidays

While the holidays are often the time of year for joy and family gatherings, they’re also when healthy decisions tend to go on vacation. This can be the result of stress, travel plans, busy end-of-the-year work schedules, juggling kids, consuming more alcohol at parties, coping with seasonal affective disorder or depression, as well as a host of other potential factors. That’s why we’ve compiled a

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TriageLogic Illustration of RSV viral envelopes and spike proteins.

Cold vs. Flu, or RSV? How Telehealth Nurses Can Use Triage Protocols to Address All Three

Since COVID-19 restrictions have been eased, this fall is already experiencing a surprising surge of respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) in conjunction with flu and the common cold. Telehealth nurses have experienced a roughly 20% increase in patient call volumes and winter hasn’t even started. While RSV symptoms are typically cold-like in appearance, the virus can be detrimental to infants, older adults, and those with medical

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TriageLogic A mother gives thermometer readings over the phone to an ASO while her daughter is resting in bed.

Clinical Review Shows How MedMessage Assist Substantially Improves Patient Caller Safety

Patient callers with medical symptoms require medical professionals who can respond within specific callback windows, based on the severity of those symptoms. While it depends on the practice, nonclinical personnel like Answering Service Operators (ASOs) are often the first points of contact for these calls. However, because ASOs aren’t certified medical professionals, it’s easier for them to overlook or underreport symptoms that are actually urgent,

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TriageLogic Two nurses at a clinic use nurse triage software to document a patient caller's symptoms.

What Should You Look for in Nurse Triage Software?

Telephone nurse triage is a valuable means for healthcare organizations and medical call centers to evaluate patient caller symptoms and direct them to the appropriate care. Making sure that your triage is as accurate and standardized as possible often depends on the software available to your nurses. That’s why we’ve developed a checklist of the main features we think are the most important to look

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TriageLogic A diverse team of smiling nurses and physicians stands outside a hospital.

From Basement Faxes to Remote Nurse Triage: The Story of TriageLogic

TriageLogic was initially conceived for two reasons: to overcome many of the technological challenges to telephone nurse triage, and to allow triage nurses greater flexibility and support in their roles. But we’re not simply a company that provides nurse staffing solutions. We’re a healthcare partner that provides technology-enabled services, licensed software, and expertise in all areas of telephone (and now telehealth) medicine. Here’s how we’ve

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TriageLogic A bubble chart shows the percentages of nurse triage protocols selected for patients based on their symptoms.

Case Study: How a Hospital System Standardized Care With Nurse Triage Software

As a hospital network grows, it can be difficult to standardize health care. This is especially true when it comes to nurse triage, where patient callers are evaluated on their symptoms and instructed on the types of care they should seek, either from their PCP, the ER, or at home. Standardizing nurse triage doesn’t simply come down to assessing who’s answering your patient phone calls

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Glittering lights fall behind the tagline, "12th Annual GrowFL Florida Companies to Watch Honoree."

TriageLogic Makes Honoree List for GrowFL’s 12th Annual Florida Companies to Watch

GrowFL Florida Companies to Watch is a statewide competition that identifies second-stage businesses that are expected to see significant growth over the next several years. TriageLogic is thrilled to announce that we’re among the top 50 selected in 2022! Read on to learn more about the competition, and some of the products and services that helped TriageLogic secure its spot. History of GrowFL Now in

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A physician in a hospital uses their smartphone to check patient data, represented by various health symbols hovering in the air.

Case Study: Health System Sees the Benefits of Nurse Triage On Call

As health systems grow, they may find it difficult to treat patient calls and requests equally across all providers in their network. This is where telephone nurse triage programs can be extremely beneficial, including the one we implemented for a large health system in the Midwest. Here’s why they chose our outsourced solution, Nurse Triage On Call. Our Health System Client Our client came to

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A sick patient wearing a scarf sits on their couch, blowing their nose and holding a cup while on the phone with their medical provider.

How Accurate Are Medical Messages From Patients?

When patients call your practice, who is the first person they speak with: a front desk attendant, a nurse, or an Answering Service Operator (ASO)? We ask because these are often the individuals tasked with relaying the reason for the call to the medical provider. If these medical messages from patients are inaccurate or incomplete, they can lead to delayed health care and negative outcomes.

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TriageLogic Dr. Ravi Raheja receives the JaxUSA Innovation Award. on stage

TriageLogic in the News: JaxUSA Award and Jacksonville Daily Record Spotlight

TriageLogic is proud to announce that our contributions to the healthcare industry have been recognized in the local news as a recipient of the JaxUSA Innovation Award, in addition to a recent spotlight in the Jacksonville Daily Record. Here’s the scoop on both, as well as the latest news and updates from within our own organization. TriageLogic in the News: JaxUSA Award Nelson Bradshaw, managing

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TriageLogic's ebook, A Provider's Guide to Remote Patient Monitoring, includes a female physician checking patient vitals on a tablet.

Press Release: TriageLogic Publishes Ebook on How to Create a Successful RPM Program

While healthcare providers acknowledge the value of remote patient monitoring, many have found it difficult to establish a successful RPM program. TriageLogic recently published an RPM ebook that outlines the common reasons why providers may experience setbacks with implementation, along with the steps they can take to overcome them. These solutions have been shown to reduce medical expenses, offer income to providers in the form

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TriageLogic Triage nurses coordinate with medical answering services from their partitioned desks in a medical call center.

Press Release: TriageLogic Offers New Artificial Intelligence Tool for Medical Messages

TriageLogic is proud to announce its new patent-pending, Artificial Intelligence-based (AI) tool for medical message takers. Known as MedMessage Assist, this freestanding module prompts Answering Service Operators (ASOs) with the appropriate questions to ask patient callers to verify whether they’re experiencing symptoms that warrant urgent medical evaluation. The following breaks down why this technology is so revolutionary, how it benefits medical answering services, nurses and

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ASO concept: a laptop is positioned between a phone headset and a stethoscope, symbolizing how AI software can help Answering Service Operators relay accurate messages to providers.

Medical Answering Service Case Study: Improve Medical Messages with Artificial Intelligence

In the United States, about 100 million messages are relayed to doctors and nurses every month. About one in six calls have a symptom that needs to be evaluated urgently. However, those urgent symptoms aren’t always conveyed accurately to providers. This is because nonclinical operators usually take messages from patients and send them to doctors and nurses. Neither operators nor patients are trained medical professionals,

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A tired nurse wearing scrubs and a facemask looks downward.

Are You Experiencing a Nursing Shortage? TriageLogic Can Help

A nursing shortage was already looming before the pandemic. Since then, it’s only gotten worse. Many nurses are ready for a break from the bedside and would rather have options that are more flexible or remote. Ninety-two percent of surveyed U.S. nurse leaders expect this shortage to intensify, and predict that little time is available to avoid it. Let’s discuss what has led to this

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A nurse attaches an RPM device to a patient's wrist.

Solutions Your Practice Can Use If It’s Experiencing Challenges With RPM

Remote patient monitoring (RPM) has already demonstrated its ability to improve patient care and generate revenue. Its home-based, wearable devices have been particularly useful for the long-term treatment of chronically ill patients. Yet there are many practices that have been slow to adopt this service, begging the question: why the wait? Read on to learn more about the potential challenges with RPM that they’ve encountered,

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Monkeypox rashes developing on a person's arms and hands.

New Monkeypox Nurse Triage Protocols Are Now Available

Cases of monkeypox have risen considerably over the last few weeks, prompting the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to declare it a public health emergency. In response, new monkeypox nurse triage protocols are now available from triage protocol authors, Dr. Schmitt and Dr. Thompson, to evaluate virus symptoms for patient callers. Read on to learn about this update, and how you can incorporate

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TriageLogic Outdoor headshots of Charu Raheja and Ravi Raheja.

TriageLogic’s CEO and CTO Join Florida Leadership Organizations

TriageLogic is excited to announce that its CEO, Dr. Charu Raheja, and its CTO, Dr. Ravi Raheja, have both been accepted into leadership programs for the state of Florida. Read on to learn more about each organization, its purpose, and what Charu and Ravi have planned based on these opportunities. Charu Raheja to Participate in Cornerstone The Cornerstone Class is part of Leadership Florida, an

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A triage nurse uses myTriageChecklist on her desktop computer to evaluate a patient caller's symptoms.

What Is The Best Nurse Triage Software That Includes Free Training for Nurses?

The number one priority for all telehealth and telephone triage nurses is to make sure that patient callers are directed to the appropriate levels of care in the proper windows of time. While this may initially seem difficult over the phone, triage nurse software ensures that nurses ask the right questions, document calls properly, and choose the right disposition for each caller. There is one

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TriageLogic A triage nurse reviews secure patient data on her laptop as part of SOC 2 certification.

Press Release: TriageLogic Announces SOC 2 Type 2 Certification for Its Nurse Triage Software

SOC 2 certification represents the highest degree of excellence in data systems and operations control. Certification comes in two stages: an initial audit of a company’s data safeguards and a second audit that occurs at least six months or later to verify these safeguards are operating correctly. TriageLogic, a healthcare organization that specializes in nurse triage, nurse telehealth, and remote patient monitoring (RPM), is proud

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Triage nurses provide coverage in a call center for high patient call volume.

5 Ways to Ensure Optimal Nurse Triage Coverage for Any Patient Call Volume

Does your team have difficulty maintaining the appropriate nurse triage coverage due to unpredictable patient call volume? This is especially true when calls come in waves, or right after doctors’ offices have closed. While many of the reasons for these calls may be non-urgent — a prescription refill request, for instance — nurses should never assume that they are until they have the opportunity to

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Remote Nurse Triage

Care News – Summer 2022

Welcome to Care News! In this issue, we highlight TriageLogic’s latest secure texting tool; Charu Raheja’s recent status as an honoree for the Jacksonville Business Journal’s “Women of influence 2022”;  the continued benefits of remote patient monitoring (RPM) programs; self-care tips for healthcare professionals; and much more! TL Care Newsletter Letter From Our CEO: The Best New Technology for Improving Your Nurse Triage Performance Charu

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Headshot of TriageLogic's CEO, Charu Raheja.

Letter From Our CEO: The Best New Technology for Improving Your Nurse Triage Performance

In spite of overcoming what has arguably been the worst of the COVID-19 pandemic, the healthcare industry is still overstressed. Nurse availability is of particular concern, as many nurses are seeing delays in becoming licensed. Burnout and turnover also remain high in the healthcare industry. TriageLogic has developed technological tools that can ease these burdens and help improve nurse triage performance. In this edition, we

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Triagelogic Headshot of Ravi Raheja

Letter From Our CTO: Telehealth Transformation Requires Patient Data Protection

In recent years, we’ve seen an increased demand for transformative care like remote patient monitoring (RPM) and telehealth nurse triage. Conversely, we’ve also seen an increase in data hijacking, ransomware, and other digital threats to our industry that have forced organizations to increase their investment in technology to protect patient data. As a service provider, we believe that it is our job to establish the

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A hand holds a yellow ribbon against sunlight, in recognition and support of those living with mental illness.

Case Study: How Do Triage Nurses Help Suicidal Patients?

Depression and suicide have been on the rise, up 33% from 1999 to 2017. One way to prevent suicide is by implementing a strong telephone nurse triage. We’ve seen firsthand how it can benefit patient callers considering self-harm by establishing a rapport and getting them timely medical assistance. We’ve even had instances where our own nurses have been thanked by suicide callers for being there

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Two Answering Service Operators use headsets to talk with patients on a triage line.

How Can Answering Service Operators Help Your Triage Nurses Know if a Call Is Urgent? A New Tool for Answering Services

It’s every triage nurse’s responsibility to get a patient caller to the appropriate care in the appropriate window of time. Nurses taking patient phone calls usually work on a callback queue and are trained to prioritize calls based on the symptoms collected by the answering service. So how do nurses know if a call is urgent and needs to be answered immediately? It may be obvious

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Headshot of TriageLogic's CEO, Charu Raheja.

Charu Raheja Named One of JBJ’s “Women of Influence 2022”

TriageLogic is proud to announce that its CEO, Charu Raheja, has been named one of the Jacksonville Business Journal’s “Women of Influence 2022.” Below are excerpts from that article, her thoughts on why TriageLogic has been so successful when it comes to patient health, and the excitement she has for the technology and innovation yet to come. Evolving Nurse Triage Charu has been a big

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A mother comforts her daughter who lies on a couch with her teddy bear. The mother is on the phone with her pediatrician regarding the child's fever.

Choosing the Correct Protocol in Nurse Triage: An In-Depth Discussion of Fever Protocol

As part of the nurse triage process, nurses need to select guided protocols to evaluate patient symptoms and make decisions on their care dispositions. Which protocol a triage nurse uses depends on the symptoms. However, one symptom often presents itself in conjunction with others: fever. When this happens, it may be tempting to select the fever protocol, but a triage nurse should only use it when

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A young mother holds her toddler in her left arm while looking at a thermometer in her right hand.

How to Address Infant Health Risks Using Telephone Triage

It can be difficult to triage infant health risks over the phone due to the fact that these patients are unable to verbalize why they don’t feel well, or where they’re experiencing discomfort. Triage nurses must know how to obtain the necessary health information from the parents or guardians who call on their children’s behalf. They must also keep in mind that callers may be

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A tick crawls over the skin of a person's arm.

Case Study: How a Triage Nurse Uses Protocols for Tick Bites

As the weather heats up, daylight lasts longer, and people spend more time outdoors, tick bites become more common. Ticks are usually active during April to September, and the CDC notes that they often show up “in grassy, brushy, or wooded areas,” on animals, or even as close as your own backyard. In the event that one of your patients notices the tell-tale sign of

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Should Nurse Triage Call Centers Record Phone Calls?

Why should you record your triage calls? That may sound like a silly question, but not everyone does — and that’s a risky decision when it comes to maintaining high levels of quality assurance. Recording your calls will keep nurses accountable, mitigate liability against them and your practice, and provide oversight to identify potential training needs. Here’s more about why each of these reasons are

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An older female patient lies in bed and uses a remote patient monitoring (RPM) device to record her vitals and share them with her provider during a telehealth call on her tablet.

How Effective is Remote Patient Monitoring (RPM)?

Remote patient monitoring (RPM) was a welcome addition to patient care in a time of social distancing. Now that many places are beginning to open back up, and mask mandates are going away, healthcare providers are reviewing their data to see how effective these RPM programs have been — and whether they’re worth continuing. Based on those findings, we’re confident that RPM is here to

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A triage nurse holding a clipboard and wearing a headset manages patient call-backs.

Average Times for Patient Call-Backs From Nurse Triage: Emergent, Urgent, and Non-Urgent

Many telehealth nurse triage departments rely on patient call-backs to help address those with the most pressing medical needs. But how are these calls prioritized, and what call-back times are appropriate when it comes to emergent, urgent, and non-urgent symptoms? Below, you’ll find a full breakdown of the policies we follow in our own nurse triage call center. But first, let’s review why call-backs are

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Two triage nurses wearing headsets discuss training beside an office window in a call center.

How Do You Train Triage Nurses?

Training triage nurses is different than training nurses for in-person patient interaction for a couple of reasons: 1) triage nurses cannot see or touch their patient callers, which means 2) they need to ask appropriate questions to clarify each patient’s concerns and evaluate all relevant symptoms. To do this effectively, nurses must be educated on how to use standardized triage protocols, document patient calls thoroughly,

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A mother comforts her child while sitting together on a couch. The mother checks a thermometer while the child is wrapped in a blanket and holds their hand to their mouth as they cough.

How a Telehealth Triage Nurse Determines if a Child’s Cough Is a Concern

A child’s cough can be a point of concern, especially to new parents. This was the case even before the COVID-19 pandemic, when this symptom accounted for the second highest number of triage calls. Now, it’s even more important that telehealth triage nurses are available to address this concern and confirm whether it’s severe enough for parents to take their children to the ER. Here’s

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A magnifying glass lays on a newspaper's jobs page, focusing on the word "Nurse."

Are You Experiencing a Nursing Shortage? Outsourced Telehealth Triage Can Help.

You’ve probably heard about the prevailing nursing shortage that’s grown since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic. Chances are, your organization has experienced its effects to some degree. But early retirement and employee burnout aren’t the only reasons for the lack of available nurses. It’s also due to surprising delays in nurse licensing. According to NPR, this isn’t an isolated incident, especially in states that

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TriageLogic Secure Texting Young female doctor wearing a white lab coat and stethoscope sits at her office desk and smiles while checking her smartphone.

Secure Texting Without an App Expedites Patient Care in Nurse Triage

For those practices looking for ways to improve their nurse-doctor communications, having a secure texting feature can be an invaluable — and often lifesaving — resource. However, the constant download of new apps can make it difficult to manage that communication with multiple doctors. TriageLogic has developed a process for a nurse to securely chat with a doctor without the need to download an app

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A registered nurse with a headset is standing and smiling in her office while performing telephone nurse triage.

Who Can Perform Telephone Triage

Telephone triage is one of the most effective ways to get patients to the right kind of care in the appropriate amount of time. But who has the ability to perform this service, and what requirements do they need in order to be effective? Consider the following factors before implementing your own solution. Registered Nurses All telephone triage should be performed by registered nurses. While

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Patient liability concept: the gloved hands of medical professionals form a heart shape around a beam scale.

Decrease Patient Liability Using Nurse Triage Software

Patient phone calls, and questions about whether or not their symptoms require an office or emergency visit, are part of every busy medical practice. However, how do you train your nurses to ensure that they give the appropriate care advice every time, while documenting caller information, symptoms, and dispositions? If your team wants to decrease patient liability on these calls, implement software with medical protocols

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A doctor wearing a white coat and stethoscope sits at their desk and uses a tablet to review patient triage information from their hospital's CRM.

Adding Nurse Telehealth Protocols to your CRM

Customer relationship management (CRM) tools are often used by marketing and sales teams to grow new business. Healthcare organizations can benefit from them too, and have been using them increasingly for patient engagement. These systems can be used to send targeted outreach to educate and empower your patients on how to manage their own health, and to guide them along personalized plans for care. Salesforce

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A nurse answers a patient call from a desk inside a hospital.

Case Study: Hospital System Partners with TriageLogic for Customized Triage Software and Call Center Support

Since the beginning of the pandemic and the push for social distancing, telehealth triage and outsourced nurse call centers have become invaluable components for evaluating callers’ symptoms and guiding them to the appropriate levels of care. It is important that your triage nurses have software with standardized, guided protocols to ensure patient safety and allow for continuity of care. Having software that can customize to

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A doctor wearing hospital scrubs and a stethoscope forms a heart shape with their gloved hands over their heart.

Self-Care Tips for Physicians, Telehealth Triage Nurses, and Office Managers

Due to the long hours they work and the number of patients they see, it can be easy for physicians, nurses, and office managers to neglect their own wellness. That’s even before tacking on the increased volume in COVID-related calls that many health systems are experiencing, and the mental health concerns often seen during the winter months. All of these factors reinforce how necessary it

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Heat map of COVID case counts reported by nurse triage for a Jacksonville hospital system.

The Best Analytics to Benefit Your Nurse Telehealth Triage

The primary purpose for all of your telehealth triage nurses is to get their patient callers to the appropriate levels of care. To do so effectively, your team needs to understand as much as possible about your patients: what their typical needs are, what times they’re more likely to call, and how to schedule your nurses to meet that volume. That’s why TriageLogic offers integrated

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A patient calls a triage line while hunched over on their couch and crying.

How Telehealth Triage Nurses Can Address Mental Health Calls During Winter

Much like the holidays that precede them, the winter months usually see an uptick in reported mental illness. These include seasonal affective disorder (SAD), depression, and suicide, and are reflected in the types of patient calls received through nurse triage. Because these mental health cases demonstrate similar symptoms, it’s important that your telehealth triage nurses have the tools to properly address each. SAD Although cases

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Concerned caller wears a scarf and sits at a desk checking a thermometer while waiting for triage support.

Telehealth Triage Calls Are Taking Longer. Here’s Why, and How to Solve It.

The uptick in patient calls that telehealth nurses first witnessed before the holidays is not letting up, and the reason seems clear: the Omicron variant of COVID-19 has become a concern for a lot of people. Our team has noticed that these calls aren’t simply increasing in volume, they’re also increasing in duration. Callers’ fears often require reassurance before nurses can even begin triaging their

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Remote Nurse Triage

Care News – Winter 2021/2022

Welcome to Care News! In this issue, we discuss the importance of physical safeguards within healthcare’s cybersecurity; how telehealth triage nurses can avoid liability on patient calls; new triage protocols from Dr. David Thompson for hospice care; TriageLogic’s ranking on last year’s Inc. 5000 Fastest-Growing Private Companies list; and much more! Care News – Winter 2021/2022 Update – Dr. Charu Raheja Letter From the CEO: Telehealth

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Bubble chart of patient caller symptoms, primarily for COVID.

Telehealth Triage Nurses See COVID Call Surges Comparable to 2020

Patient calls regarding COVID-19 have reached or exceeded what triage nurses experienced at the very beginning of the pandemic. This is due to the prevalence of the Omicron variant which overtook Delta before the holidays, and has since escalated anxiety and fear due to its high transmissibility even among the vaccinated. Hospital systems are already stressed in many states, says NPR, “where the number of

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Outdoor headshot of Charu Raheja

Letter From the CEO: Telehealth Changes Needed in 2022

As we welcome the new year and take stock of 2021, I’m excited to reflect on all of the developments we’ve seen when it comes to telehealth. Digital visits are now a standard practice for many providers that patients have eagerly adopted. While this service has certainly been beneficial for patient availability and social distancing, plenty of doctors and nurses still find themselves under intense

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Triagelogic Headshots of Dr. David Thompson and Dr. Ravi Raheja

Triage Protocols for Hospice Care: A Conversation with Dr. David Thompson

Schmitt-Thompson triage protocols cover a wide range of patient symptoms in both adults and children, and have become the gold standard for dispositions on care. Now, Dr. David Thompson has developed a new set of protocols that can be used in hospice care. TriageLogic is fortunate enough to have had the opportunity to learn from him directly about how these protocols were developed, their purpose,

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Stethoscope, Santa hat, and Christmas decorations on a blue background.

Healthy Holiday Habits From Telehealth Nurses in the 2nd Year of COVID

It’s no surprise that the holidays are a difficult time for maintaining healthy habits. Alcohol consumption tends to go up, which increases the urge to eat more. Additionally, family gatherings, stress, as well as cases of seasonal affective disorder and depression can all contribute to higher rates of communicable disease. On top of that is the continued influence of the COVID-19 pandemic, the more recent

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A physician consults notes from a clipboard while updating information on their laptop.

Customize Your Path to Care Using TriageLogic’s Schmitt-Thompson Protocol Editor

As telehealth evolves, healthcare organizations are expanding nurse capabilities in areas like telephone triage, remote patient monitoring, postop discharge, and chronic care management. This requires both flexibility and the means to adapt nurse telehealth protocols — including the industry standard developed by Drs. Schmitt and Thompson — to fit organization-specific needs. TriageLogic’s protocol editor is the only one on the market today with all of

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Concerned wife calls her husband's doctor to request information while they sit together in their living room. Her husband winces and holds a hand to his head.

The 6 Types of Difficult Calls a Telehealth Triage Nurse Should Be Prepared to Take

With the holiday months upon us, it isn’t surprising for telehealth triage nurses to see an increase in difficult calls. When we say difficult, we refer to those that are either: about cases of abuse or neglect; from unauthorized callers; about chronic ailments or repeat callers; about complicated medical or psychosocial issues; from callers who are excessively worried, anxious, or angry; and from callers who

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Medical liability concept: A nurse sits at a table with a clipboard, gavel, and golden scales of justice.

Avoid Liability With Proper Documentation for Telehealth Nurse Triage

By the very nature of their profession, telephone triage nurses can’t physically see their patient callers. This begs the question, what kind of liability do they face when they provide dispositions for care? That’s why we were excited to sit down with D.D. Fritch, MSN, MHA, RN, a tenured clinical leader in this area of healthcare, who was happy to shed some light on the

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Triagelogic Outdoor headshot of Amy Smith

TriageLogic Employee Spotlight: Amy Smith

Welcome to the TriageLogic Employee Spotlight. This week’s rock star is Amy Smith, a jill-of-all-trades who has been with the company from the beginning! These days, she’s primarily involved with sales and account management, but don’t be surprised if you run into her at HR, contracting, or bookkeeping. Because of everything she’s done for the company, we want to highlight what led her to a career

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Cybersecurity concept: the word "HACK," spelled on keys from a computer keyboard, is superimposed over an electrocardiogram measurement.

Cybersecurity Best Practices for Healthcare, Telehealth, and Nurse Triage

Most medical organizations are not adequately prepared when it comes to their cybersecurity. According to a recent survey of 4,500 cybersecurity professionals, only 4 percent reported they were from healthcare. This reality is especially concerning now that malicious code like ransomware has become monetized as well as because of the dangerous conditions that hospitals face if they lose access to their patient data. While training

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Physicians sit around a table with a digital display that reads "medical triage" projected in the center.

“Real-Time Updates” and “Triage Software Integration” Among Reasons to Use Software with Schmitt-Thompson Nurse Triage Protocols

Healthcare organizations benefit greatly when their nurse triage and telehealth services use a software with Schmitt-Thompson protocols. These have been shown to decrease unnecessary provider spend and substantially improve patient health outcomes. But what really makes these protocols the best method for dispositions on patient symptoms? Developed by Doctors As a pediatrician, Barton Schmitt, MD contributes to office-hours and after-hours protocols focused on child symptoms

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Headshot of Barbianne Roe

TriageLogic Employee Spotlight: Barbianne Roe

Welcome to the TriageLogic Employee Spotlight. This week’s rock star is Barbianne Roe, a registered nurse since 2003. Barbianne joined our team a couple years back as a triage nurse, and now serves as our Customer Service Manager. We sat down with her recently to talk more about what drew her to a career in healthcare, and some of the experiences she’s had along the

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TriageLogic’s Dr. Charu Raheja to Chair the Neurosurgery Outreach Foundation’s Benefit Challenge

TriageLogic is excited to announce that its CEO, Dr. Charu Raheja, will be chairing an upcoming benefit challenge and dinner party with The Neurosurgery Outreach Foundation (NOF) on November 13th! The event, titled A Portrait of a Pastry Chef as an Artist, will offer an exciting pastry competition as part of a fundraiser for several NOF programs: their educational surgical mission, educational award, medical equipment

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Happy doctor talks to senior male patient at home.

Using Telehealth Nurses to Create a Concierge Practice

Concierge healthcare may sound like it’s referring to on-call doctors tending only to the super-rich, but the reality is thankfully not so narrow. These subscription-based services are often affordable to the average American, and even preferable to current insurance-driven models. But what you might be surprised to learn is that traditional doctors can use telehealth and telephone nurse triage to reduce patient costs even further

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Triage nurse smiles while holding and using a phone headset.

How Triage Nurses Provide Positive Patient Experiences by Phone and Telehealth

While the methods for providing positive patient experiences may have changed over time, the reasons haven’t. In fact, NRC Health’s comments from a few years back still hold up today: by attracting and retaining patients, you prompt them to “become more engaged in their own care, and develop a stronger sense of loyalty to your organization.” Our current healthcare environment means these experiences are no longer

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Logo concept: The words "Inc." in black; the number "5000" in orange, yellow, blue, and navy blue respectively; a circular black band surrounding it that reads "America's Fastest-Growing Private Companies" in white font.

TriageLogic Proud to Be Recognized by Inc. 5000

TriageLogic is excited to announce its ranking on the Inc. 5000 Fastest-Growing Private Companies list this year! Considering how much of a trying time it’s been for business globally — and for healthcare in particular — this recognition is all the more gratifying. It truly would not have been possible without the continued efforts of our entire team. By the Numbers TriageLogic ranked: #340 in

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Stethoscope lays on laptop keyboard.

Physical Safeguards Your Cybersecurity Needs to Protect Patient Data in Telehealth

The past year and a half has redefined the healthcare industry. Not only have hospitals and practices quickly adapted to an emergency pandemic and a heavy demand for telehealth, they’ve also seen an increase in cyberattacks. These have placed medical organizations on high alert to review their network security, as well as their patient data and the vendors who collect it. According to a recent

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A mother holds her baby while talking with a triage nurse.

Nurse Triage Case Study: Giving Appropriate Callback Instructions

Any time that a triage nurse speaks to a patient caller about their symptoms, they need to include callback instructions. These are meant to guide the patient on what to do in case those symptoms worsen. It is imperative that the nurse provides enough information to the patient so that they can identify when that change has been significant enough to warrant a callback. Case

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Mother carries their child who wears a white disposable face mask.

COVID or Flu? Telephone Nurse Triage Tips for Pediatric Patients

Because we’re back in flu season, doctor offices and our nurse triage lines have received an uptick in callers who are confused and worried about whether their children have contracted COVID or influenza. Their concerns are understandable, especially when there aren’t many differences in symptoms between COVID and flu, and both follow similar treatment. Masks and social distancing last year saw a historically low flu

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An older adult female braces her hip with her hand while in visible discomfort, as a triage nurse is on the phone with her taking notes.

Case Study: Using Schmitt-Thompson Protocols to Triage Acute Pain

When addressing adult patients with acute pain, telephone triage nurses benefit from Schmitt-Thompson protocols in two ways: 1) most older adults already have chronic conditions that complicate identifying their pain’s source; and 2) they may have multiple injuries that need to be assessed and prioritized. Schmitt-Thompson protocols ensure that responding triage nurses identify all symptoms and do so in order of severity. Let’s see how

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What are Schmitt-Thompson Protocols?

As telehealth gains in popularity, it’s even more important for physicians to ensure that their patients receive consistent, accurate advice on every call. When it’s in regard to a patient’s symptoms, nurses are usually the first line of care. In order to determine if those symptoms can either be managed at home, with a primary care physician, or at the Emergency Room, triage nurses need

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Woman checking glucose level with a remote sensor and mobile phone, sensor checkup glucose levels without blood. Diabetes treatment.

Home Health Agencies Using RPM Will Be Rewarded by Medicare

The shift from volume-based care to value-based has extended from hospitals and doctors’ offices to home health agencies. According to Fierce Healthcare, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) created a payment model that “incentivizes quality of care improvements without denying or limiting coverage or provision of Medicare benefits for all Medicare consumers and includes updates to payment rates and policies…” This change is

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A triage nurse uses the phone in their office while checking files on a computer.

What Does a Triage Nurse Do in a Doctor’s Office?

Triage nurses can play an essential role for any doctor’s office by addressing patient callers and providing the best dispositions for their care. This work can be performed during the day using a simple protocols checklist, or using more robust reporting and symptom protocols when the doctor’s office is closed. But what exactly does that look like? And how can these nurses provide consistency on

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Triage Answering Service Operator wearing glasses and a headset stands in front of a triage nurse holding a clipboard and wearing a stethoscope.

Are Answering Service Operators Asking the Right Questions?

When a patient calls a nurse triage phone line, they’re first greeted by an answering service. This includes an operator whose job it is to ask questions regarding the reason for the patient’s call, which allows patient requests to be organized into urgent and non-urgent categories for nurse triage staff to address. However, there are times when the complaint an operator documents isn’t reflective of

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TriageLogic and Play-it Health business logos, coupled with a display of vital signs on an ICU monitor.

Press Release: Play-it Health Partners with TriageLogic on Remote Patient Monitoring (RPM)

Jacksonville, Fla., August 9, 2021 – Play-it Health, a virtual care management organization, has coupled its Remote Patient Monitoring services with TriageLogic’s telephone nurse support for patient symptom-checking and follow-up. Play-it Health has continued to provide exceptional virtual care management since the COVID-19 pandemic through the use of its Remote Patient Monitoring (RPM) program. This is one of the most effective tools that doctors can implement

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Gavel and stethoscope rest on a medical binder beside a computer keyboard.

Legal Perspective on Telephone Nurse Triage Documentation and Tips for Success

There’s no question that telephone triage nurses provide a valuable resource for patients seeking guidance on medical care. But like all areas of healthcare, they must also understand the legal responsibilities and liabilities involved in telephone nurse triage documentation. Here are the main points they must keep in mind to provide the most accurate dispositions and avoid legal or negligence issues: They don’t make diagnoses

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Dr. Ravi Raheja discusses Delta Variant at Jacksonville Newsroom Channel 4

Triage Nurse Explains Delta Variant: Symptoms, Vaccinations, and Prevention — An Interview With Ravi Raheja, M.D.

The most recent concern for the U.S. regarding COVID-19 has been the spread of the contagious Delta variant. It first appeared in India in December of 2020, spread to the U.K. and other countries, and is now poised to become the dominant strain stateside. This is attributed to its higher transmissibility, as well as lower vaccination rates and reduced social distancing measures. As a result,

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Male grasping abdomen with both hands

Important Steps for a Triage Nurse Evaluating Male Abdominal Pain

When your male patients call your practice to report abdominal pain, it’s important that the responding nurse considers all possible reasons — and obtains all necessary information — to get a clear picture of the patient’s symptoms. Not only is abdominal pain fairly common, the root causes of it can vary greatly, as can the severity of its discomfort. Each case requires a triage nurse

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Remote Nurse Triage

Care News – Summer 2021

In this issue of Care News, we cover the three questions medical practices are faced with now that COVID restrictions have loosened; Dr. Ravi Raheja talks about the importance of cybersecurity for protecting your telephone nurse triage and patient data, and addresses the growing cases of COVID-19 in younger age groups; and we highlight the importance of new Schmitt-Thompson protocols that allow triage nurses to

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Cybersecurity specialists reviewing data on computers.

Cybersecurity: How to Safeguard Your Medical Call Center

Healthcare organizations are recognizing the need for heightened cyber defense in the wake of increased ransomware and other malware attacks this year. Becker’s outlines the main points of entry that hackers are likely to exploit, including networks, equipment connected over the Internet of Things (IoT), personal devices, data storage, records disposal, and remote users. That last vector is increasingly important as more patient care shifts

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schmitt thompson

Schmitt-Thompson Update: Telephone Triage Nurses Can Now Schedule Your Telehealth Visit

The pandemic accelerated the use of telemedicine, and indications are that it’s here to stay. Patients and families have largely embraced it as a convenient means of medical care for concerns and questions that do not require an in-person visit, while more providers — including primary care and specialists — have continued to adopt it. As a result of the increasing demand for telehealth, the

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Triage Logic Dr. Ravi Raheja discusses covid case uptick in teens

Dr. Ravi Raheja Discusses COVID Case Uptick in Teens

Over the weekend, TriageLogic’s Dr. Ravi Raheja spoke with News Channel 4 about the recent uptick in teen sickness due to COVID-19, addressed parent concerns, and offered precautions that families can take to protect themselves. What factors could be at play for a rise in cases? New strains may be making it easier for the virus to spread, as we’ve seen happen in other countries.

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Outdoor headshot of Charu Raheja

Letter from the CEO – How Hospitals and Practices Should Prepare for Fall 2021

The past year and a half has redefined the healthcare industry. Hospital systems and practices were forced to adapt to a global pandemic while offering chronic or emergency care. The result has been a new medical world: one with expanded telehealth, nurses triaging patient symptoms over the phone, and remote patient monitoring devices tracking vitals and offering an advanced warning against life-threatening conditions. Yet even

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Press Release: TriageLogic Announces Ebook on Telehealth Trends During the COVID-19 Pandemic

JACKSONVILLE, Fla., June 7, 2021 – TriageLogic has released a study they conducted of their telehealth nurse system during the COVID-19 pandemic that analyzes caller data, protocols used, and general changes in patient behavior to shed light on the efficacy of remote care in the modern medical age. COVID-19 altered many patients’ perceptions of healthcare. So much of the population was afraid of contracting the virus,

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RPM’s One Problem: Not Enough Nurses

Remote Patient Monitoring (RPM) can be one of the most effective programs you can implement to manage the care of your patients suffering from a chronic disease. Wearable devices track their vitals and send alerts to doctors when potential complications are recorded, serving as an advanced warning system for detecting problems weeks in advance before patients experience symptoms. Not only does this help your patients

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Triage Logic serving providers and patients

Foundational Tips for Telephone Triage Nurses

Telephone nurse triage is a system that requires the work of dedicated nurses who can think on their feet in order to quickly and accurately direct callers to take the appropriate actions in any given situation. While that may sound daunting, it can become significantly easier to accomplish with basic knowledge of what to do during any caller interaction so that nurses can effectively triage

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Triage Logic Triage Nurse training for difficult calls

Difficult Calls: A Triage Nurse’s Guide to a Positive Call Experience

When people have health concerns, particularly when practices are closed, they may seek care from an emergency room (ER) because they are not sure about the severity of their own or their loved one’s symptoms. Telephone triage nurses use standardized triage protocols to evaluate symptoms over the phone and determine the appropriate level of care for the patient. Triage nurses must also have excellent listening

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Triage Nurse Case Study: Protocol and Disposition for a Crying Newborn

As most people know, a nurse triage line is an important resource to help parents navigate early childhood.  Still, it is sometimes difficult for parents to understand when calling a triage nurse is necessary for the safety of their children. In this article, we detail a case study for a call during the evening shift from a concerned mother for her 6-week-old baby. Her child

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Emergency Symptoms Most Commonly Missed by Adults – A Review of Triage Nurse Calls

Triage nurses use Schmitt-Thompson protocols to determine which symptoms are serious. However, sometimes symptoms that patients don’t think are serious, such as headache or chest pains, might actually require emergency medical assistance due to their severity. By following protocols, nurses can catch early warning signs of more critical conditions and direct patients to the ER when necessary. When deciding on a course of action for

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How Telephone Nurse Triage Actually Works

How does telephone nurse triage actually work? This is a common question we receive when implementing a nurse triage system. In this article, we cover the entire phone triage process from when a patient calls a nurse, to when a nurse relays the information back to the doctor. There are five steps in our URAC accredited health call center process. Nurses ensure that all callers

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The 5 levels of Telephone Nurse Triage

When a telephone triage nurse evaluates a patient, she has to properly evaluate the severity of the symptoms presented to determine the correct disposition. TriageLogic nurses use Schmitt-Thompson protocols to guide them into asking the right questions, properly document information, and give patients an accurate disposition for the most appropriate level of care.  There are 5 levels of telephone triage dispositions: Call 911, go to

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Demographics of Patients with Urgent Symptoms in a Nurse Triage Center

We studied data from 230,000 telephone calls from our nurse triage call center from January-
October 2020. Nurses ensured that all callers received standardized, high-quality care by using
guided symptom-based protocols written by Doctors Schmitt and Thompson. During each call
we collected information about the patient’s demographics, the triage protocol used by the nurse,
and the patient’s disposition. Patients were also asked whether or not they were planning to go to
the emergency room (ER) prior to calling a nurse. In this article we focus on the callers that
ended up in the ER and their demographics.

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Nurse Triage Explains COVID-19 Vaccine Protocols

The COVID-19 vaccine is here, and a new virus with a new vaccine means new protocols for triage nurses. Triage nurses play an important role in times like these; many patients have questions about the vaccine and if what they are feeling after receiving it is normal. A couple of COVID-19 vaccines require two shots spread apart to be effective, though there are new vaccines which only requires one. In this article, we’ll tell you about the new triage COVID-19 vaccine Schmitt-Thompson vaccine protocols, and what kind of outcomes to expect.

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Insurance and RPM

How Insurance Reimbursements Makes Remote Patient Monitoring Profitable for Healthcare Organizations

The COVID-19 pandemic has encouraged healthcare organizations and physicians to adopt remote healthcare more readily — from telehealth visits to remote patient monitoring (RPM). The need to care for patients efficiently from their homes and to assess a potential serious health problem has ushered in the future of the industry. This improves patient outcomes and decreases morbidity and mortality. Reimbursement from commercial and government health

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Mental Health and Nurse Triage Calls During COVID-19

According to the Kaiser Family Foundation, 53% of American adults estimated that the COVID pandemic had a negative effect on their mental health. Looking at the data that we’ve collected during the pandemic from our nurse triage service, we begin to see a clear picture. In this article, we deep dive into the data that show us how COVID cases have impacted collective mental health.

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Remote Nurse Triage

Care News – Spring 2021 – Lessons From the Pandemic, Triaging Tips, and Covid Data E-Book

In this issue of Care News, you’ll hear from our CEO Dr. Charu Raheja about the lessons we’ve learned from COVID and how we plan to move forward. You will also hear from our Medical Director Dr. Ravi Raheja about the exciting new world of remote patient monitoring. Along with a few words from our new partnership with Analog Devices, you will be updated on important information in the remote nurse triage world!

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TriageLogic CEO Charu Raheja

From the CEO: The 2020 Pandemic and Lessons for Healthcare

Through 2020 and the COVID-19 pandemic, TriageLogic has been assessing data. This data included patient symptoms, attitudes, and outcomes both in general as well as specific to COVID-19. Our goal was to share what we observed with the healthcare industry. We observed how patient behavior was impacted by breaking news and the media, and how education changed caller behavior.

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nurse triage covid

Patient Calls to Nurse Triage During COVID-19

The COVID-19 pandemic has increased telemedicine visits as patients and doctors try to stop the spread of infection. The CDC reports that telemedicine visits increased by more than 50% during the first months of the pandemic. Triage nurses can work closely with doctors to provide a safe and effective way to direct patients to the appropriate level of care and help save lives.

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New Learning Center Course: Remote Patient Monitoring (RPM) – The Costs and Benefits of RPM and How to Implement a Successful Program

Triage Logic has a new triage nurse learning center course available on remote patient monitoring (RPM). The course explores the following: a. What is RPM; b. the benefits of an RPM system to both the patient and the provider; and c. how can doctor offices implement a program with minimum staff time by using both clinical and non-clinical contact centers.

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Is it the Flu or COVID-19? How to Tell the Difference

As the flu begins to spread alongside COVID-19, it is more important than ever to understand the differences between the viruses and what to do if you suspect you have been infected. Careful action and preventive measures can help keep you and others safe and reduce the burden on health systems.

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The Advantage of Telephone Triage for Patients Who Need Chronic Care

Chronic care management (CCM) involves facilitating care in-between physician office visits for patients with multiple chronic conditions. Care coordination between office visits can help individuals follow their care plan, adhere to their medication regimen, and keep doctor appointments. It can also help identify and pre-empt issues with the potential to turn into health tragedies.

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How Schmitt-Thompson Protocols Help Hospitals and Medical Practices

Telephone triage protocols help triage nurses maintain a quality of care on a consistent basis. They are important for doctors to delegate workloads, standardize procedures, and give nurses decision support. Hospitals can use these protocols to maintain the proper flow for their patients, ensure patients are receiving the correct advice for the symptoms presented, save money, and ultimately save lives.

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Three telephone triage nurses finding the appropriate level of care for their patients

What Are Triage Levels?

Triage levels indicate the appropriate level of care for each patient depending on the symptoms they are experiencing and their medical history. Determining the appropriate triage level in a quick, effective manor is critical for patient safety, peace of mind, and cost-effective care.

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Triage nurse talking to patient who is worried about going to the hospital and doesn't want to catch COVID-19

Lessons from Nurse Triage Calls During COVID-19

As the coronavirus pandemic progresses, nurse triage is playing a critical role in helping healthcare organizations, hospitals and practices manage their overwhelmed systems. As the weeks passed since the original national emergency announcement, our nurse triage center has observed some important trends on what callers are experiencing.

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Telephone triage nurse using listening skills when triaging a patient

Tips for Successful Patient Calls

Patient triage via phone is often challenging – nurses have limited information and no visual clues to guide their decision making. Instead, they rely on years of education, hands-on-training and instinct.

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What Are Triage Protocols

What Are Nurse Triage Protocols?

Schmitt-Thompson nurse triage protocols ensure that nurses follow a standardized process when evaluating patients over the phone and recommend the best advice given the symptoms presented by the caller.

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Using Device Data and Nurse Triage to Improve Value Based Care

As our CEO mentioned in her introduction, new technologies are transforming how clinicians deliver health care. At the same time, digital solutions alone are not enough to help patients. Incorporating some human component increases patient compliance and education, thus further reducing health care costs. At TriageLogic®, we are adopting our software and increasing the role of triage nurses to complement traditional care settings.  For example,

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TriageLogic’s Medical Director, Dr. Ravi Raheja Talks About Measles Outbreak on College Campuses and the New Schmitt and Thompson Protocols Available

New protocols have been released by Dr. Bart Schmitt and Dr. David Thompson for telephone triage nurses specifically for patients that have been diagnosed or have suspected measles or have been exposed to measles. The two new protocols cover scenarios where patients have been diagnosed or have suspected measles or have been exposed to measles.

The guidelines provide telephone triage nurses with a consistent and methodological approach to callers who have questions.

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TriageLogic CEO Recognized for Leadership and Health Technology

Founder and CEO TriageLogic and Continuwell, Dr. Charu Raheja, was recently named one of the Top 35 Women Igniting Success in Jacksonville by the Buzz Media Group. The award honors women executives, entrepreneurs, employees, and the companies they run. The award was presented by Snowden McFall, President of Fired Up and Dawn Gilam from Changing Homelessness.

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The Top Excuses Men Often Make To Avoid Going To The Doctor And Why Telephone Triage Nurses Can Help

Patients today have more options than ever to receive care outside of their primary care – if they even have one. Having more options may seem like a good thing, however many times the consumer is confused about the best care to address their symptoms. In the process, they end up either over-utilizing services or underestimating serious medical symptoms, creating both a drain to the healthcare system as well as possible threat to their lives.

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Customizing Care for Patient Populations with a Nurse Triage System

Patients today have more options than ever to receive care outside of their primary care – if they even have one. Having more options may seem like a good thing, however many times the consumer is confused about the best care to address their symptoms. In the process, they end up either over-utilizing services or underestimating serious medical symptoms, creating both a drain to the healthcare system as well as possible threat to their lives.

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Mental Health Month- How Can Triage Nurses Help Patients?

Triage Nurses In Mental Health May is Mental Health Month. It  was started 70 years ago by Mental Health America to raise awareness about mental health conditions and the importance of good mental health for everyone. Telephone triage nurses have a more important role than ever before. Nearly one in five U.S. adults lives with a mental illness (44.7 million in 2016), which is why many

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10 Signs to Outsource your Medical Call Center

Value-based care is encouraging healthcare providers to provide better care by incentivizing with pay for better outcomes and cost effectiveness verses a purely transactional model.Improving the patient experience is an extremely important component to get individuals to engage with the proper resources that will ultimately keep them healthy and decrease health care cost. Yet, many healthcare providers struggle to focus on the patient experience and

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The Benefits of Telephone Triage with Chronic Care Patients

Telephone triage services give modern practices a unique and powerful way to be compensated for managing patients with chronic care conditions. Currently, three in four Americans over the age of 65 have two or more chronic health conditions, such as hypertension, cancer, stroke, arthritis, and diabetes. By 2030, about one in five Americans will be older than 65. As they age and life expectancy increases,

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telephone-triage-nurses-deliver-value-based-care

The Role of Telephone Triage Nurses in Delivering Value-Based Care

As the healthcare industry continues to undergo transformative change and emphasize improved quality with a lower total cost of care, health systems are making the shift from volume to value. The notion of paying for performance is the industry’s most promising strategy for controlling costs and improving outcomes. There is growing evidence that value-based care leads to better health, better care, and reduced total cost.

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Using Telephone Triage to Prevent Suicide

Using Telephone Triage Services to Prevent Suicide

Telephone triage nurses play a critical role in suicide prevention. They serve as the first point of contact for callers in need of immediate assistance.  The more knowledgeable triage nurses are about treating patients with mental illnesses, the better they are prepared to intervene. According to the CDC, approximately 123 Americans die by suicide every day and the stigma associated with mental illnesses often prevents

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Benefits of Telephone Triage Nurse

The Benefits of a Nurse Triage Solution

Phones still remain an essential means of communication with medical practices. Physician practices have to continue to find efficient ways to incorporate it into the patient-doctor relationship and take advantage of all the other opportunities that a solution like TriageLogic offers. Physician practices that can efficiently and effectively take their patient’s calls and address their issues up front have an opportunity to create a positive

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Secure-Texting-TriageLogic

Secure Texting: Closing the Gap to Create Effective HIPAA Compliant Communication

Once a triage nurse has done an initial evaluation on a patient there are times when the protocol or circumstances require a physician to get involved. In these instances, it is critical for the nurse to get in touch with the provider on call for the practice to securely and effectively communicate the needs of the patient and requires relaying protected health information securely. Traditionally,

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The Crucial Role Triage Nurses Play In Educating Adults About Serious Medical Symptoms

The Crucial Role Triage Nurses Play In Educating Adults About Serious Medical Symptoms

When a medical emergency happens, not everyone calls 911. In a surprising study of patient surveys and disposition outcomes from telephone triage case, as many as one third of adult callers underestimated the seriousness of their symptoms. Even when adults have a sense that their symptom may be serious, there is a stigma of calling for an ambulance. Fortunately, having a triage nurse available increases

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Using Telephone Triage to Reduce Heart Attacks in Women

Heart disease is the number one cause of death for women, yet many patients do not realize that they may have heart attack symptoms. Women often delay seeking medical attention. Denial is a common first reaction. No one wants to think that the symptoms they are having could be a life-altering heart condition that frequently needs surgery. Telephone triage nurses must know the warning signs to help

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Entrepreneur-360-List-TriageLogic

TriageLogic Recognized for Innovation by Entrepreneur 360

Triagelogic was recently named as one of the 2018 Entrepreneurs of the Year by Entrepreneur Magazine. Each year, Entrepreneur recognizes organizations from across the country that have mastered the art and science of growing a business. Entrepreneur magazine conducted a nationwide search to find the most entrepreneurial companies in the country, rating and ranking them using a proprietary algorithm that factors in their ability to expertly balance impact, innovation,

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Using Telephone Triage to Detect Early Signs of the Measles and Prevent Future Exposure

There have been multiple outbreaks of measles across the United States. In 2019, nine states have reported cases of measles, according to information from the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and state health departments: Washington, Hawaii, Oregon, New York, Pennsylvania, Connecticut, Colorado, California, and Georgia.  When patients are made aware of a virus such as the measles, they usually become anxious and fearful.

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Title for TriageLogic's Winter 2019-Spring 2020 Care News

Care News – Winter/Spring 2019

In this edition, we highlight the new clinical updates for the Schmitt-Thompson Protocols by author, Barton Schmitt MD. This article focuses on optimizing the performance of health care systems to meet the Quadruple Aim framework.

You will find tips for triage nurses to use when managing difficult callers and best practice strategies for practices interested in using a custom mobile app.

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Using Triage Nurses to Decrease ER Overcrowding

Medical Center in Oklahoma Provides and Innovative Triage Line to Manage Hospital overcrowding An Effective Approach to ER Phone Calls Emergency Room (ER) overcrowding is widespread in hospitals, creating delays and diversion from those who need care the most. According to a recent article “Compounding the problem is the alarming trend of a decreasing number of ERs and an increasing numbers of ER visits.[1]” All

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Basic Qualities of a Good Triage Nurse

Basic Qualities of a Good Triage Nurse By Marci Lawing, RN, BSN and Ravi K. Raheja, MD Telephone Triage Nurses are a special breed. Evaluating an individual’s symptoms over the phone presents a unique challenge. Think of working in an ER without your sense of vision, smell, or touch. Nurses are taught to use all 5 senses to triage their patients and when we take

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Don't Compromise on Security

Don’t Compromise on Security

Letter from the Medical Director – Dr. Ravi Raheja The average cost of a data breach in the United States has hit an all-time high of $7.35 million. Just this year, there have been more than 100 hacker attacks on healthcare organizations, according to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Despite better awareness among healthcare organizations, data breach costs average $408 per record.

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The New Health Care: Value Based Care

CEO Perspective Value-based care is bending the healthcare cost curve, reducing unnecessary medical costs while improving care quality and patient engagement. Yet providers worry value-based reimbursement will negatively impact patient care. According to a recent survey by Change Healthcare, over 61% of doctors still fear value-based reimbursement will damage their practice. While physicians may feel uncertain about the impact value-based care will have on their

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Office Exercises for Busy Nurses and Office Staff

While in the workplace we become sedentary due to a lack of movement over an extended amount of time. By being overwhelmed with work to meet deadlines, we forget to take a break to stretch our body. We focus ourselves on increasing our time to work while inadvertently decreasing our muscle quality. These desk exercises will not only increase the muscle quality, but will be

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The Goal of the Telephone Triage Process

The primary goal of the telephone triage process is to deliver safe quality oriented telephone triage partnered with outstanding customer service.  The health safety and wellbeing of the patient is at the forefront of every telephone encounter.  The purpose of the telephone triage process is to assess the patient’s current signs and symptoms, concurrently evaluating their past medical history and current medications.  This patient assessment

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RoseMoonSpotlight

Employee Spotlight – Rose Moon, RN, BSN

In this edition of Employee Spotlight, we are introducing Rose Moon, TriageLogic’s Clinical Education and Call Center IT Support Manager for over 5 years. She teaches triage nurses and other telephone triage professionals on how to triage patients over the phone and provide the highest quality of care. Rose Moon earned her Bachelor’s Degree in Nursing from Duquesne University in Pittsburgh Pennsylvania and joined Triage

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Clinical Update by Schmitt-Thompson for Telephone Triage Nurse Call Centers

Clinical Update by Schmitt-Thompson for Telephone Triage Nurse Call Centers

Important Metrics to Increase Safety and Satisfaction Barton Schmitt MD, one of the authors of the Schmitt-Thompson Protocols, has released a clinical update for the telephone triage nurses. This update is focused on the call center metrics for meeting The Quadruple Aim framework for optimizing the performance of health care systems. To review, the 4 aims are: Improve Health Quality and Safety Reduce Costs Improve

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Triage Levels

Triage Levels

By Dr. Ravi Raheja, TriageLogic’s Medical Director and CIO: When a patient has a symptom, determining the appropriate triage level quickly and effectively is critical for several reasons. First, let us clarify what is a triage level? A triage level is the appropriate level of care based on the patient’s symptoms and medical history. Levels usually include dispositions such as call 911, go to the

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Dr. Ravi Raheja gives Tips on News4Jax for Staying Healthy During Game Season

Dr. Ravi Raheja Gives Tips on News4Jax for Staying Healthy During the Game Season

With fall comes cooler temperature, football games, and other fun outdoor activities. But with all the fun, there are also more health-related issues with cooler temperatures, games, and parties. Our Triage Nurses have documented that the flu has already broken in certain parts of the USA, and food poisoning and allergies are starting to rise. Read these tips from our Medical Director and CIO, Dr.

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Nurse Triage Options for ACOs and Medical Organizations: Improving Medical Care and Decreasing Costs

Accountable Care Organizations, or ACOs, are formed by groups of doctors and other healthcare providers. ACOs aim to encourage providers to decrease patients’ health expenses by taking responsibility for the quality of care provided. By doing so, providers receive a share of the Medicare savings while encouraging better preventive health care for their patients. The question for medical organizations that share on health savings is

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Triage Nurses Help Physicians During Cold and Flu season

Winter and holiday season is coming and that means that doctor offices and triage nurses around the country are preparing for the high influx of patient phone calls during the season. Many calls can be handled over-the-phone with home care advice, while others require patients to come into the office. Schmitt-Thompson triage protocols for doctor offices (see, for example, myTriageChecklist), are an important resource for

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The Importance of an Independent Triage Nurse on Evaluating Symptoms – Interview with Dr. Charu Raheja and Dr. Ricardo Hanel

As medical provider knows, telephone triage nurses play a crucial role in evaluating symptoms and ensuring that patients receive the right level of care for their symptoms. A frequently discussed benefit of having a triage nurse available 24/7 is the decrease in unnecessary ER usage and its associated savings to health care. A less discussed and even more crucial benefit is the impact that triage

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Triage Nurses Help Hospitals During Natural Disaster

In an event of a natural disaster, many medical practices are forced to close due to mandatory evacuation. This creates a void of medical help available for those in areas affected by natural disasters. One of our recent natural disasters, Hurricane Florence, largely affected the North Carolina region in September. Shortly after, Hurricane Michael devastated the Florida gulf area in October 2018. Many hospitals and

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E-book on how employee wellbeing benefits organizations

New E-book Release About How Employee Wellbeing Benefits Organizations

JACKSONVILLE, FL (October 8, 2018) “Corporate wellbeing programs often serve two main purposes: improve the overall health of employees and improve productivity in the workplace.” TriageLogic’s CEO, Dr. Charu Raheja, just released her latest book,  Why Wellbeing is Simply Good Business. While you are taking care of your patients, who takes care of your health? The book guides readers to understanding why focusing on the

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Triage Nurses Treating High Blood Pressure among Children

The AHA has recently presented findings of food insecurity leading to high blood pressure among children. Food insecurity affects around 40 million Americans; 6 million of those being children and adolescents. Triage nurses can provide simple solutions to alleviate the medical situation by providing parents with health education and by reassuring parental concerns about their child’s health. What is Food Insecurity? Food insecurity is defined as poor access to

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CEO of TriageLogic Nominated for International Award

The 20 Successful Businesswomen To Look for in 2018 Founder and CEO of the TriageLogic Group, Doctor Charu Raheja, was recently named “The 20 Successful Business Women To Look for 2018” in the most recent edition of Mirror Review magazine. In the article, Charu discusses her journey with starting TriageLogic, and how her challenges have helped her run a successful telehealth business. According to Charu,

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The Role of Triage Nurses During Food Outbreaks

Recently foods such as Honey Smacks cereal, Goldfish Crackers, and eggs have been on the news as being recalled. The main culprit in these recalls was Salmonella. Updates on Honey Smacks alone have shown that at least 130 people across 36 states have contracted the illness, creating worry among consumers. Still, not all food recalls have the potential to cause health hazards. Our triage nurses

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Reduce Physician Burnout with Telephone Triage Nurses

Patients today expect their physicians to be available outside of standard office hours, creating higher demands on already busy schedules for doctors.  Studies point to more than half of physicians reporting burnout, as defined as a loss of enthusiasm for work, feelings of cynicism, and a low sense of personal accomplishment. A solution for doctors and hospitals is to develop a team that can assist doctors while providing

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Keynote speaker at health advisors conference

Jacksonville, FL August 27, 2018. Continuwell announces CTO Ravi Raheja, MD to be a keynote speaker at the biannual Health Agents for America (HAFA) conference in Las Vegas August 30th  and 31st. Dr. Raheja will discuss client retention and solutions to improve the delivery of benefits and resources to clients. He will present a roadmap to help health advisors assess client needs and implement solutions

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Nurse Triage Case Study of a Cardiac Patient

Triage Nurses and Working Diagnoses Intro:  The main goal for triage nurses when they get a call from a patient is to evaluate their symptoms and determine the level of care needed to treat those symptoms. The more pertinent information the nurse can collect, the more likely she is to understand what is causing the patients symptoms and how to assist the patient in getting

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Tips for Triage Nurses to Manage Difficult Callers

Often times, patients calling a triage nurse are worried, tired and overwhelmed. This can create a situation where callers are difficult to triage. This article presents tips for nurses to help callers remain calm and diffuse a difficult call. A key tip for triage nurses is to use compassion to effectively triage patients, and focus on each callers’ unique issues even when the patient is

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custom-mobile-app-for-patients

Using a Custom Practice Mobile App to Engage and Improve Patient Health

Demands for enterprise mobility and flexibility are a new reality in today’s society. Physicians and hospitals need to evaluate how they can leverage technology to meet the needs of patient interaction. Here, we discuss how providing patients with a custom practice mobile app will improve engagement and improve patient health. Studies suggest that healthcare is more efficient and effective when patients are actively engaged in

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Nurse Triage Risks

First Lesson on Triage Liability: Risk Reduction with Pediatric Triage

Introducing the first lesson in the latest course from TriageLogic’s Learning Center, Risks in Telephone Triage. Throughout this course, we will examine the various risks that providers need to consider when triage nurses evaluate patients over the phone. These risks include delay of care, not following protocols, practicing outside the scope of nursing, and improper documentation. In this first lesson on risk, we discuss how telephone

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TriageLogic Group Awarded as One of Jacksonville’s Fastest Growing Companies Second Year in a Row

On July 12th, 2018 the TriageLogic Group was recognized at the Jacksonville Business Journal Fast 50 awards as one of the top 50 fastest growing companies on the First Coast. Each year, the Jacksonville Business Journal highlights companies in the community who are the successfully growing. This is the second year in a row that the TriageLogic Group has been awarded. The recipients of this

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Nurse to triage nurse

Transforming a Nurse into a Triage Nurse

By Marci Lawing, RN Nursing Director We have previously written about the basic qualities required to be a good telephone triage nurse (see article). Once those qualities exist, the nurse is then ready to move on to training to become a great telephone triage nurse.  What does it take to become an effective telephone triage nurse? Training, Training and More Training There are many, many

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Title for TriageLogic's Winter 2019-Spring 2020 Care News

Care News Summer – Fall 2018

This newsletter introduces Sara Brackin, TriageLogic’s Implementation Manager. Sara supervises the development of new products and solutions that help improve patient access to care. This edition of Care News also highlights articles that were recently published in magazines, such as Florida Doctor and AnswerStat.

One of the most exciting announcements is that we have finished rebuilding our Learning Center.

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Learning Center

TriageLogic’s Learning Center for Triage Nurses has a New Home

TriageLogic’s Learning Center has become a vital tool for many triage nurses. This free resource provides educational material for telephone nurses and features a variety of learning material including videos, articles, research, and links to external sources. The courses provide a thorough understanding of nurse triage, triage protocols, and patient care. These resources address the criteria and skills needed to be an effective telephone triage nurse. While

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Healthcare Call Center

TriageLogic to Attend the Annual Conference of Healthcare Call Centers

Rose Moon, TriageLogic Clinical Education and IT Support Manager, will be representing the company in Pittsburgh at the Healthcare Call Center’s 30th annual conference June 13-15, 2018. This year’s conference focuses on “bridging from yesterday to tomorrow,” and Rose is excited to share how TriageLogic is helping to create the triage call center platforms of the future. Rose will be set up at booth #18

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Clinical Triage Call Center Platforms

TriageLogic Transforms Existing Patient Management Systems and EHRs into Clinical Triage Call Center Platforms

Letter from the Medical Director Dr. Ravi Raheja Around the same time as electronic medical records (EMRs) were starting to get popular, triage systems had started to emerge.  These triage systems worked like simple EMRs to collect and store patient data from telephone triage encounters. The unique feature of these triage systems was that they had symptom-based protocols embedded to assist the nurse in making

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Triagelogic is growing

TriageLogic is Growing to Meet the Demands in Telemedicine

The Summer CEO Perspective By Dr. Charu Raheja, Ph.D. Telemedicine is improving the quality of patient care while decreasing costs. TriageLogic is constantly evolving and growing to meet the needs of providers and patients. We have developed more versatile software, such as the new myTriageChecklist Call Center Version, that allows any health call center to add Schmitt-Thompson protocols to their existing patient management system, or

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Nurse Triage Call Procedures: Listening Skills

Effective listening skills are a fundamental characteristic of telephone triage nurses. In a traditional setting, nurses are able to utilize all senses, while triaging a patient. However, the biggest challenge in telephone triage and telemedicine is the lack of face-to-face communication. Telephone nurses have to fine-tune their listening skills, in order to effectively triage a patient. There are three different components in effective listening: active,

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The 10 Critical Steps of Taking a Triage Call

This short video introduces the key steps in for a triage nurse to take a patient phone triage call. The goal of every triage call is to make a patient feel comfortable and heard, while at the same time collect the critical information from the patient and get them to the appropriate level of care based on their symptoms. Triage Nurses are good clinicians, critical

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Building Trust in Telephone Nurse Triage

The nurse-patient relationship is an important part of any patients total treatment plan. Trust is an essential component to that relationship and helps to improve compliance leading to better patient outcomes. Patients who do not trust their nurses tend not to follow their instructions, which can, in turn, lead to a delay of care and negative outcome for the patient. Communication plays a big part

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Telephone Triage: Managing Difficult Calls

As a triage nurse working in a call center, you are bound to have a difficult caller at one point or another. To be effective, it is important to take a step back and put yourself in the caller’s shoes. Remember a time when you or a loved one was sick or in pain. Most likely you were overwhelmed by worry and anxiety. You might

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Triaging Newborns and Comforting New Parents: Part 2

By Marci Lawing, RN   In this blog series, we have explored some important issues to be aware of when triaging newborns and normal newborn reflexes. These included normal newborn reflexes, the cuddle paradox, poor feeding and suck issues, increased sleep, color changes, unusual cries, repeat calling, and more. In this part 2, we share some common caller scenarios and how to handle them. Common

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Triaging Newborns and Comforting New Parents: Part 1

By Marci Lawing, RN   Normal Reflexes and Symptoms of Illness Newborns can be especially difficult to triage because there are 2 or more clients to take into consideration: the infant and the new parent/s. Sometimes the parents just need reassurance that what their infant is displaying is normal, while other times it may not be as clear to the triage nurse. In this blog

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Nurse Triage: Handling Abuse or Neglect

In the United States, more than 5 children die everyday as a result of child abuse or neglect. Therefore, triage nurses have to be prepared to handle these difficult calls and recognize the signs of abuse and neglect. However, children are not the only victims of abuse. Adults, elderly, and disabled individuals can also be exposed to cruelty. Most importantly, the triage nurse needs as

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Effectively Documenting Patient Phone Calls Decreases Liability

By Charu Raheja, PhD In modern times, people demand quick access to information and services. Medical care is no different. More and more patients and medical practices are turning to the telephone to communicate health information and care instructions, which, when used correctly, can be a safe, effective and beneficial option for both the patient and physician. However, unlike office visits, there is often a

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How to Reassure Callers of Coughing Children for Triage Nurses

Calls from parents about coughing children are the second most common triage call. After ruling out the need for urgent care, it is important to reassure parents, so they won’t take their little one to the Emergency Department. Drs. Schmitt and Thompson explain how to help parents understand that coughs are almost always viral in origin, so antibiotics won’t help. Parents also need to understand the

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How to Calm an Anxious Parent as a Telephone Triage Nurse

By Dr. Ravi Raheja Telephone Triage nurses play an important role in assessing sick patients over the phone and directing them to the appropriate level of care. In addition to the clinical aspect, nurses play an important role in the human aspect by providing an empathetic and reassuring health professional that they can trust. It is not unusual for first-time parents or parents of newborns

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Emergency Room or Not

How Triage Nurses Are Making a Difference There are many times when the triage nurse is able to redirect the caller to a less expensive treatment option that allows them to stay home and treat their symptoms while also educating them on the symptoms that they should be aware of that require a trip to the Emergency Room. Many times, patients who have had little

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Triaging the Mysteries of Abdominal Pain

Triaging the Mysteries of Abdominal Pain By Marci Lawing, RN Stomach pain is something almost everyone experiences from time to time. Abdominal pain is a common reason patients call nurse triage yet each call is as challenging as the next. There are so many possible causes of abdominal pain that the nurse must be diligent in asking the right questions and performing a detailed assessment

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Advice from Triage Nurses on Early Health Warning Signs for Adults

In July, we presented data from our nurse triage call center evaluating the disposition given to adult callers when they called a nurse triage line (read original). Surprisingly, we found that 1 in every 3 adults who called a nurse line presented such serious symptoms that they required urgent care, as illustrated in Graph 1. In this article, we expand the study by explaining why the

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Adults Underestimate Their Symptoms – Nurse Triage Saves Lives

One in every 3 adults who calls a nurse triage line is told to go to the ER. Find out why. By: Charu G. Raheja, PhD Often times, as adults, we think that we are better than children at determining if our symptoms are serious enough to require further care. As a result, many of us deny very serious symptoms. We think the severe headache

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Building Trust in Telephone Nurse Triage

Building Trust in Telephone Nurse Triage The nurse-patient relationship is an important part of any patient’s total treatment plan. Trust is an essential component of that relationship and helps to improve compliance leading to better patient outcomes. Patients who do not trust their nurses tend not to follow their instructions, which can, in turn, lead to a delay of care and negative outcome for the

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Outcomes When Infants Are Triaged by a Nurse Line

One in 10 parents who call a nurse triage line on behalf of their infants is told to go to the ER. By: Charu G. Raheja, PhD Pediatricians understand that a nurse triage line is imperative to help parents navigate early childhood.  Still, it is sometimes difficult for parents to understand when calling a triage nurse is necessary for the safety of their children. In

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Triaging Newborns and Comforting New Parents Part 2

In this blog series, we have explored some important issues to be aware of when triaging newborns and normal newborn reflexes. These included normal newborn reflexes, the cuddle paradox, poor feeding and suck issues, increased sleep, color changes, unusual cries, repeat calling, and more. In Part 2, we share some common caller scenarios and how to handle them. Common Caller Scenarios Newborns can be especially

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Triaging Newborns and Comforting New Parents: Part 1

Triaging Newborns and Comforting New Parents: Part 1 By Marci Lawing, RN Normal Reflexes and Symptoms of Illness Newborns can be especially difficult to triage because there are 2 or more clients to take into consideration: the infant and the new parent/s. Sometimes the parents just need reassurance that what their infant is displaying is normal, while other times it may not be as clear to

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How to Calm an Anxious Parent as a Telephone Triage Nurse

How to Calm an Anxious Parent as a Telephone Triage Nurse By Dr. Ravi Raheja Telephone Triage nurses play an important role in assessing sick patients over the phone and directing them to the appropriate level of care. In addition to the clinical aspect, nurses play an important role in the human aspect by providing an empathetic and reassuring health professional that they can trust.

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Triage Protocols – Why Use Them and How do They Work?

Watch this short video to get an overview of triage protocols and the importance of using protocols when evaluating patients over the phone. Triage Protocols are specialized algorithms that are used to evaluate the seriousness of a caller’s condition, based on the caller’s symptom. The nurse asks a series of questions starting with the highest acuity, 911, and working down to those symptoms that can

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TriageLogic’s New Protocols Lecture

TriageLogic’s New Protocols Lecture Last year we started a new course on triage protocols for nurses. In the previous lectures we covered ‘What are Protocols and How to Use Them?’ and ‘Navigating Protocols: Steps 1 and 2’. In the ‘What are Protocols’ lecture, we learned that protocols are a standardized method of triaging a patient. The use of these protocols allows a triage nurse to

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Why do patients call after hours? Triage Calls From November Through January

Why do patients call after hours? Triage Calls From November Through January It is the beginning of February, one of the coldest months of the year. Winter months are normally associated with a higher number of patients calling with symptoms related to cold, flu and influenza.  Surprisingly this year, we have not seen the common influx of Influenza-related patient phone calls that are normally observed.

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Information That Triage Nurses Can Give to Patients Concerned with Zika Virus

Information That Triage Nurses Can Give to Patients Concerned with Zika Virus When patients are made aware of a virus such as Zika, they usually become anxious and fearful. More often than not, they end up calling doctors’ offices with questions and concerns. As such, triage nurses should be prepared to receive some of these calls. They need to be well informed about the illness

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Ebola: Protocols for Handling Patient Calls and Concerns

With the death of the first victim in Dallas, and now two healthcare workers being treated for the virus, the nation is growing concerned about our ability to contain Ebola. While the United States is well equipped with supplies and the hospitals to handle this infection, protocols, and knowledge play an important role. Although Ebola is a deadly virus, it is not nearly as contagious

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colds-vs-flu-how-triage-nurses-differentiate

Cold vs Flu: How Do Triage Nurses Differentiate? Many times patients call a triage advice nurse with symptoms of cough, nasal congestion, fever and feeling sluggish. These symptoms are common with both a cold and Influenza. Colds vs flu: how does the triage nurse know which protocol to use to assure her patient reaches the right level of care? This short video blog discusses how

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Basic Qualities of a Good Triage Nurse

Basic Qualities of a Good Triage Nurse By Marci Lawing, RN, BSN and Ravi K. Raheja, MD Telephone Triage Nurses are a special breed. Evaluating an individual’s symptoms over the phone presents a unique challenge. Think of working in an ER without your sense of vision, smell, or touch. Nurses are taught to use all 5 senses to triage their patients and when we take

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Tips for Successful Patient Triage

Triaging patients over the phone is challenging because nurses have limited information available to them. Because they are not able to use touch and visual cues, nurses have to use their years of training, education, and instincts to help them make the right decision every time. This article covers 5 common challenges and issues faced by triage nurses. Read on to learn how to avoid

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Stories From the Field: Triage Nurses Tell All

Stories From the Field: Triage Nurses Tell All The TriageLogic Group is staffed by a team of talented and well-rounded nurses. We are thankful for their expertise in triage and compassion for patients. While our nurses maintain a high level of professionalism they have their own inspirational and funny stories to share. We have compiled a few stories from our nurses that will remind everyone

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Saving healthcare dollars

Saving Healthcare Dollars with Nurse Triage – A Case Study

While many symptoms are serious and require an emergency care visit, many patients seek the advice of a triage nurse to keep them out of the Emergency Room. There are many times when the triage nurse is able to redirect the caller to a safer and less expensive treatment option, while also educating them on what symptoms to monitor for that would warrant a need to be

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Salesforce

Silverline and TriageLogic Partner to Integrate Nurse Triage Software with Salesforce Health Cloud

Silverline, a Salesforce Platinum Consulting Firm headquartered in New York City, in partnership with TriageLogic®, is proud to announce an integrated version of its nurse triage module for Salesforce. With MyTriageChecklist, the comprehensive triage module, patient and/or medical call centers with Salesforce can easily add nurse triage protocols into the core interaction with patients. Salesforce continues to gain momentum across the healthcare industry with Health

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Patient Triage Calls

Tips for Successful Patient Triage Calls

Triaging patients over the phone is challenging because nurses have limited information available to them. Telephone triage nurses are not able to use touch or visual cues. These nurses have to rely on their years of training, education, and instincts to help them make the right decision every time. Below, I discuss tips to ensure positive triage outcomes for each patient call. Be Objective: As

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Triage Call Center

Using Data Analytics to Improve Value-Based Care

As practices and organizations move to value-based care, medical call centers can play a crucial role in improving the patient experience and the quality of care while containing costs. An effective way to start finding a solution is to evaluate data from nurse triage call centers on patient concerns, caller demographics, nurse triage disposition and effectiveness, and other measures to improve the call center and

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telehealth nurses

Incorporating Telehealth Nurses in Your Telemedicine Services

By Dr. Charu Raheja, Ph.D. Hospitals, specialty clinics, and other healthcare organizations are expanding telemedicine to provide quality services and generate revenue. There are many telemedicine options available for each organization’s unique needs and it is important to be aware of the factors that providers must consider to make telemedicine services successful for the patients and the organization. Telemedicine Adoption [1] According to the 2017 Foley

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Patients love TriageLogic

Why Patients Love TriageLogic’s After-Hours Telephone Triage Service – A Case Study

Why Patients Love TriageLogic’s After-Hours Telephone Triage Service Hospitals and physicians trust TriageLogic to be there for their patients’ health concerns. TriageLogic’s telephone nurse triage service Nurse Triage On Call includes trained nurses that are available after-hours to discuss symptoms and solutions. We like to highlight stories when TriageLogic nurses take the initiative to help their patient beyond the standard protocols. CASE STUDY: Meet the Caller and the

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How Secure is Your Patient Data?

How Secure is Your Patient Data? As more technology gets implemented to improve healthcare data security has become an increasingly important aspect to consider. Providers need to know that their patient’s information is secure and that the systems and products that they are using are not leaving them vulnerable. At TriageLogic, we take several steps to protect patient data and ensure that our products are

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Dr. Charu Raheja to be a Keynote Speaker at Biannual HAFA Conference for Healthcare Advisors

 Dr. Charu Raheja to be a Keynote Speaker at Biannual HAFA Conference for Healthcare Advisors Jacksonville, FL March 5, 2018. Continuwell announces CEO, Dr. Charu Raheja, Ph.D., to be a keynote speaker at the biannual Health Agents for America (HAFA) conference in New Orleans March 8th and 9th. Dr. Raheja will present a roadmap to help agents assess client needs and easy-to-implement technological solutions that

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Why Telephone Triage Nurses are a Perfect Complement to Telemedicine

 Why Telephone Triage Nurses are a Perfect Complement to Telemedicine Telemedicine has been a medical buzzword for several years, and the variety and depth of services provided have grown dramatically during this time. There is little argument that telemedicine is a great way to supplement traditional medical practices. The advantages are clear: more convenient care for patients, more doctor availability, and less driving time and

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Increased Call Volume Due to 2018 Influenza Season

Increased Call Volume Due to 2018 Influenza Season There is no denying it, we are in the middle of Flu Season. Is your practice experiencing an influx of patient calls? TriageLogic nurses have seen a 28% increase in call volume from December to January. Many of these patients are suffering from flu-like symptoms and reaching out to their providers for care advice.  We are just

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Female patient with a possible heart attack symptom should be evaluated by a telephone triage nurse

Using Telephone Nurse Triage to Evaluate Patients for Possible Heart Attacks

Using Telephone Nurse Triage to Evaluate Patients for Possible Heart Attacks Heart disease is the number one cause of death for women, yet many patients do not realize that they may have heart attack symptoms. These symptoms can often be subtle or imitate other ailments, such as influenza, nausea, or back pain. Therefore, telephone triage nurses must know the warning signs to help their patients

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Winter Desk Exercises: Staying Active and Healthy at Work This Winter

Winter Desk Exercises Staying Active and Healthy at Work This Winter Winter is the busy season for telephone triage nurses. Call volume increases mean more time at their desk on the phone with patients. With the weather outside being less than ideal, it can be hard to be motivated to exercise. However, doing these quick winter desk exercises while working can improve health and keep

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Title for TriageLogic's Winter 2019-Spring 2020 Care News

Care News Winter – Spring 2018

Drs. Charu and Ravi Raheja discuss how TriageLogic continues to innovate triage software and services to provide your patients with easy access to quality care.

You’ll also read about the release of new features for myTriageChecklist and the ability to integrate nurse triage software with Salesforce.

You’ll get an introduction to Chrissie Pattison, the Sales Manager for Continuwell.

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Employee Spotlight – Chrissie Pattison Continuwell Sales Manager

  Employee Spotlight – Chrissie Pattison Continuwell Sales Manager   In this edition of our Employee Spotlight, we are introducing Chrissie Pattison, the Continuwell sales manager.  Chrissie met TriageLogic’s founders Charu and Ravi Raheja at a mutual friend’s birthday party. They struck up a conversation that led to what they did at TriageLogic. Chrissie was instantly interested since she had been married to a physician

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Software to Triage and Document Patient Calls Updated with Detailed Reporting Capabilities and Custom Orders

  Software to Triage and Document Patient Calls Updated with Detailed Reporting Capabilities and Custom Orders Jacksonville, FL, January 2, 2017 – TriageLogic is introducing the latest version of MyTriageChecklist®, a daytime telephone nurse triage software to triage and document patient phone calls. TriageLogic customers will still have all of the features and clinical support that they rely on from the previous version, including Schmitt-Thompson

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Making a Difference at Work – How Corporate Social Responsibility Affects Recruiting and Retaining Employees

  Making a Difference at Work- How Corporate Social Responsibility Affects Recruiting and Retaining Employees A guest blog from Continuwell partner Community Health Charities Corporate social responsibility (CSR) is fast becoming a key factor in recruiting and retaining employees for many companies. Today’s workforce is cause-focused; 83% of millennials and 70% of all U.S. employees are more likely to be loyal to companies that help

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The Challenges of Triaging Rashes Over the Phone

  The Challenges of Triaging Rashes Over the Phone Though most rashes are harmless, patients and providers would like to be able to diagnose and determine exactly what is causing the rash over the phone. This has become easier as telemedicine technology has evolved to include the ability for patients to send their providers or nurses images from their smartphones, such as the my247Healthcare app

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How to Make Your Telemedicine Services Successful

  How to Make Your Telemedicine Services Successful Recent studies have shown that hospitals, specialty clinics, and other healthcare organizations are no longer leery of telemedicine and are in fact expanding to provide quality services and generate revenue. With this growth and success, there are many telemedicine options available for each unique organization.  It is important to be aware of the factors that providers must

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New eBook on Engaging and Communicating with Employees

New eBook on Engaging and Communicating with Employees A New eBook from TriageLogic’s partner company Continuwell on how to help empower, communicate, and engage your employees with access to company resources Employee engagement and communication is key to any organization but is crucial in the medical field. In a study of 200 hospitals by Gallup, they found that the engagement level of nurses was the number

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How Triage Nurses Can Help Patients with Diabetes

How Triage Nurses Can Help Patients with Diabetes Did you know that 29 million people living in the United States have diabetes?  The Center for Disease Control (CDC) reports that every five minutes two people die of diabetes-related causes and 14 adults are newly diagnosed. According to the American Diabetes Association, people with diagnosed diabetes have medical expenses about 2.3 times higher than those who

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TriageLogic Partners with Silverline to Integrate Nurse Triage Software with Salesforce

TriageLogic Partners with Silverline to Integrate Nurse Triage Software with Salesforce JACKSONVILLE, FL (November 03, 2017) TriageLogic©, in partnership with Silverline, is excited to introduce a Salesforce integrated version of their nurse triage module at Dreamforce 2017. With MyTriageChecklist© for Salesforce, the new comprehensive triage module, patient and/or medical call centers with Salesforce or considering Salesforce can seamlessly add nurse triage protocols into the core

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Managing Patient Calls During the Holidays

Managing Patient Calls During the Holidays The beginning of the 2017 holiday season is here and many practices are evaluating how they will be managing patient calls during the holidays. Fall can be a busy time for your practice, with the flu and back-to-school colds making their way through your community. Halloween brings its own horrors with patient calls about children throwing up and not

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Risks in Telephone Triage Care: A New Learning Center Course

Risks in Telephone Triage Care: A New Learning Center Course Introducing the next course in TriageLogic’s Learning Center, Risks in Telephone Triage. This course will examine the various risks that providers need to consider when triage nurses evaluate patients over the phone. These risks include delay of care, not following protocols, practicing outside the scope of nursing, and improper documentation. All medical professionals practice their

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Case Study: Nurse Triage Assisting Patients with Medical Devices

 Case Study: Nurse Triage Assisting Patients with Medical Devices Another Potential Life-Saving Incident. In today’s world, healthcare is fragmented and while technology is improving care, it is also increasing the complexity of maintaining and using medical devices. In addition, as a provider, you want to ensure that your patients receive quality care 24/7. Offering your patients an after-hours nurse triage service serves as an extension

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Preparing Your Practice for the 2017 Influenza Season

 Preparing Your Practice for the 2017 Influenza Season Cases of influenza and patients with flu symptoms are already being reported across the U.S. It is time to prepare your office staff and patients for the prevention and treatment of the influenza virus. Establishing a quality telephone triage system, such as TriageLogic’s myTriageChecklist, will prepare your office for an influx of patient calls and help to

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How Telephone Triage Nurses Handle Patient Emergencies

 How Telephone Triage Nurses Handle Patient Emergencies There are many reasons why patients call a nurse triage service. Some call for advice on what to do for acute symptoms, such as mild diarrhea, vomiting, or how to soothe their child that can’t sleep due to a mild cough and stuffy nose. Every telephone triage nurse will eventually have a caller that is experiencing severe chest

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Speeding up the Diagnosis of Patient Symptoms: How Triage Nurses Help Patients by Asking the Right Questions

 Speeding up the Diagnosis of Patient Symptoms: How Triage Nurses Help Patients by Asking the Right Questions Telephone nurse triage plays a critical role in making sure that patients are given the correct level of care when they call. This requires following strict guidelines established through Schmitt-Thompson protocols, in which the nurse asks certain questions beginning with the most emergent symptoms. In some cases, a

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The Role of Nurse Triage in Providing Emotional and Life Support to Callers

 The Role of Nurse Triage in Providing Emotional and Life Support to Callers     When most people think about what a triage nurse does, they think of worried mothers calling about their babies, elderly patients calling about ailments, and middle-aged adults worried if they are having a heart attack or just gas. Often times, one overlooks the role of triage nurses in providing emotion

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How Daytime Protocols Help Improve Patient Call Outcomes

 How Daytime Protocols Help Improve Patient Call Outcomes Every patient interaction starts with a phone call. Often times, patients call their doctor’s office to ask if their symptoms require them to come in. How does your practice ensure that the nurses answering the calls ask all the relevant questions and documents the calls?  Dr. Schmitt and Dr. Thompson have created standardized guidelines that ensure the

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Reduce Unnecessary ER Visits with Telephone Triage

 Reduce Unnecessary ER Visits with Telephone Triage Over the years, telemedicine has been gaining acceptance as a means of lowering healthcare costs and decreasing the unnecessary use of the ER.  Telephone nurse triage has become part of the telemedicine solution. By using standardized protocols to advise patients on their symptoms and indicate the appropriate care, triage nurses decrease unnecessary ER visits, resulting in significant annual

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Nurse Triage Help for Patients Who Suffer from Asthma

 Nurse Triage Help for Patients Who Suffer from Asthma In the U.S. alone 1 in 13 people have asthma. If a patient is experiencing sudden difficulty with airway management, it is vital for them to contact a triage nurse to work through the various interventions. With the triage nurse using her critical thinking skills and protocols, such as the Schmitt-Thompson guidelines, she can guide the

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TriageLogic to Provide Post-Op Follow-up Calls to Baptist Health Neurosurgery Patients

 TriageLogic to Provide Post-Op Follow-up Calls to Baptist Health Neurosurgery Patients JACKSONVILLE, FL (August 14, 2017) TriageLogic® has teamed up with Baptist Health to provide post-op follow-up calls from nurses to patients who have been discharged after surgery for stroke or other conditions from Lyerly Neurosurgery, part of the Baptist Stroke & Cerebralvascular Center. The stress and difficulty faced by patients during their hospital stay

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Title for TriageLogic's Winter 2019-Spring 2020 Care News

Care News Summer-Fall 2017

In this issue, Drs. Charu and Ravi Raheja discuss new products and services as well as upgraded features of the TriageLogic software, including our latest product Continuwell, the new MyTriageChecklist, and a new data report feature for our Call Center Software clients.

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Employee Spotlight: Beth Demos, RN

 Employee Spotlight: Beth Demos, RN This employee spotlight we have decided to feature Beth Demos, RN. You may have recently read about her call with a patient who did not want to follow her instructions. However, because of her persistence and compassion, he eventually called 911 and received the immediate care that he needed.  After dabbling in art school, cosmetology, and pharmacology, Beth graduated from

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Letter from the Medical Director

 Letter from the Medical Director  TriageLogic was one of the first companies to provide computerized triage protocols for office nurses to handle their daytime patient phone calls. We are excited to announce that we are releasing a brand new version of MyTriageChecklist with exciting features. As our way of saying thank you, all existing customers will be able to upgrade to this robust platform at

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CEO Perspective

 CEO Perspective Welcome to our summer 2017 newsletter! So much has happened since the beginning of this year, and I am excited to share our progress with you. First, Continuwell is now available for your organizations to implement and ensure your employees stay healthy and your healthcare costs stay down. Did you know that over 85% of employees consider health and wellness offerings when choosing

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TriageLogic Recognized as One of the 50 Fastest Growing Companies by Jacksonville Business Journal

TriageLogic Recognized as One of the 50 Fastest Growing Companies by Jacksonville Business Journal TriageLogic is excited to announce that we have been selected as one of Jacksonville’s Fast 50. For this list, the Jacksonville Business Journal looks for companies that boomed during the good times, that grew even when the economy shrank, and that stand as an example of what ingenuity, hard work and

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STARTEK Announces Partnership with TriageLogic

STARTEK Announces Partnership with TriageLogic   Leading BPO expands medical triage solutions and provider medical support services Greenwood Village, Colo. — (July 19, 2017) – STARTEK, a leader in business process outsourcing services today announced a partnership with URAC accredited TriageLogic® to expand its medical triage solutions and provider medical support services. The partnership allows STARTEK to provide healthcare clients with an enhanced solution to evaluate

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Tips to Decrease Employee Absenteeism and Save on Healthcare Expenses

Tips to Decrease Employee Absenteeism and Save on Healthcare Expenses Hospital executives and administration are constantly under pressure to reduce costs without sacrificing patient care. For many, this means cutting labor costs. On average, about 50% of hospital revenue is spent on labor costs. One cost-saving opportunity is to provide staff with an easy to access resource for all of their health and wellness benefits. Providing

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How to Manage Patient Calls Based on the Size and Needs of Your Organization

How to Manage Patient Calls Based on the Size and Needs of Your Organization As a practice manager or doctor, managing patient calls effectively is critical in ensuring high-quality, well-coordinated care for every patient. The first step is to make sure that the people answering your phones triage patients efficiently and effectively. Establishing a consistent nurse triage system will improve the way you manage patient

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Keeping Your Staff Healthy

 Keeping Your Staff Healthy You work hard at ensuring your patients have all of the tools that they need to stay healthy. What about your staff? When it comes to employee healthcare, a lot of companies take the preventive approach, such as implementing programs and challenges that focus on losing weight or quitting smoking. Having a program that can combine all of your company’s benefits

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Is a Trip to the Emergency Room Necessary? Read Anna’s Case Study

 Is a Trip to the Emergency Room Necessary? Read Anna’s Case Study  Emergency room visits cost an average of $2,1681, making it an expensive option for care. For the patient, it means high co-pays, a long wait in a crowded emergency room, and the possibility of catching a virus while waiting.  The difficulty in making the right decision on whether or not an emergency room

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50 Reasons to Choose TriageLogic’s Nurse Triage On Call

 50 Reasons to Choose TriageLogic’s Nurse Triage On Call Providers are often faced with the dilemma of ensuring that their patients have access to care after-hours, but do not have the time or staff to provide those services. The benefits of having a trained medical professional after hours are clear: not only does it prevent unnecessary medical expenses by directing people appropriately, but it also

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TriageLogic Presents at Healthcare Call Center Times Annual Conference

TriageLogic Presents at Healthcare Call Center Times Annual Conference  TriageLogic presented material on hiring and managing remote call center employees to some of the largest hospitals around the country at the 29th Annual Conference of Healthcare Call Centers. Medical Director Ravi Raheja, MD and Clinical Nurse Manager Marci Lawing, RN BSN each presented their views and experience on what works and tips for call center managers.

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This Triage Nurse is a Hero – See How She Saves a Patient’s Life

This Triage Nurse is a Hero- See How She Saves a Patient’s Life Some of the most important triage calls are the ones where the patient doesn’t think that their symptoms are serious. A patient should never ignore severe symptoms. TriageLogic nurses often take calls from people who are reluctant to call 911 or go to an emergency room, even when their symptoms warrant a

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Nurse’s Toolbox: Triaging Patients with Celiac Disease

Nurse’s Toolbox: Triaging Patients with Celiac Disease May is celiac disease awareness month. In these final days of May, we wanted to dedicate this Nurse’s Toolbox to detailing what celiac is, what the symptoms are, how it is diagnosed, and treatment options.  Triaging a patient with known Celiac Disease can be challenging.  It is important for triage nurses to know  the symptoms, in order to

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Accountable Care Organizations Can Decrease Unnecessary Patient Expenses with Nurse Triage

Accountable Care Organizations Can Decrease Unnecessary Patient Expenses with Nurse Triage  Accountable Care Organizations (ACOs) are designed to encourage high-quality and less expensive treatments for patients. As a provider, you receive a reward if your patients stay out of expensive care and expensive hospitals. Similar incentives for providers are emerging from insurance companies as well. There are many strategies your practice can implement to reach

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Tips for Triage Nurses and Telehealth Professionals with Anxious Callers

Tips for Triage Nurses and Telehealth Professionals with Anxious Callers  Anxiety is as individual and personalized as pain is.  Any medical professional, for instance a triage nurse, will tell you, “Pain is what the patient says it is.”  Anxiety is similar, as it is hard to determine how an individual will react to situations.  Sometimes, what the nurse may perceive as a small “inconvenience” is

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Engaging Patients During a Nurse Triage Call and Developing Trust

Engaging Patients During a Nurse Triage Call and Developing Trust  The nurse-patient relationship is one that is like no other. On any telehealth call, such as a nurse triage call, two strangers must somehow find a way to communicate and trust each other in a very short period of time. Like other relationships, this one is built on trust and communication. However, unlike other relationships,

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Learning Center Course 3 Part 4: Case of a Child with an Acute Cough

Learning Center Course 3 Part 4: Case of a Child with an Acute Cough Just as with our other case studies on baby Laura, Juan, and Paula, this course focuses on how the nurse uses the 10 Critical Steps to perform a thorough assessment on the patient, pick the correct protocol and disposition, and get the patient to the right level of care. The patient

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Tune in to Hear TriageLogic’s CEO on Monday’s First Coast Connect

Tune in to Hear TriageLogic’s CEO on Monday’s First Coast Connect Jacksonville, FL (April 27, 2017). TriageLogic CEO, Charu Raheja, PhD, will be on the local radio show First Coast Connect Monday May 1, 2017 to discuss her story, some of the biggest challenges facing healthcare today, and how telehealth fits in the overall solution. Call in to be part of the conversation Monday around

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Continuwell® Exhibited at the World’s Largest Telehealth Event

Continuwell® Exhibited at the World’s Largest Telehealth Event JACKSONVILLE, FL. (April 25, 2017) Continuwell, a product of TriageLogic, exhibited at the American Telemedicine Association’s (ATA) Telehealth 2.0 in Orlando, April 23-25. This conference is the telehealth industry’s premier event for technology innovation and networking, focused on how telehealth is transforming healthcare. The Continuwell team was on the floor demonstrating the new patent-pending application (app) that

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A Customized Follow-up Plan to Reduce Hospital Readmissions

A Customized Follow-up Plan to Reduce Hospital Readmissions When patients get discharged after a hospital visit, it can be difficult for them to follow or remember discharge instructions. This can lead to higher readmission rates, longer recovery times, and overall lower quality of patient satisfaction. Read these tips to see how a customized post discharge follow-up care plan will reduce patient readmissions. Did you know?

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Charting by Exception –Triage Patients Efficiently in Your Medical Call Center

Charting by Exception –Triage Patients Efficiently in Your Medical Call Center When triaging patients in your medical call center, charting by exception is the most efficient way to ensure that your triage nurses quickly reach the correct protocol. At TriageLogic, we use the gold-standard Schmitt-Thompson protocols and chart by exception based on the author’s recommendation for safe triage care. Charting by exception is a shorthand method for documenting

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Using Mobile Apps to Engage Patients

Using Mobile Apps to Engage Patients Telehealth and mobile applications (apps) are changing the way that healthcare is delivered. A recent Pew Research study[1] found that about 77% of Americans own a smartphone. It is estimated that smartphone users spend about 1.8 hours every day on their devices, and that 89% of that mobile media time is on an app. Anyone who owns a smartphone

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Decrease Medical Liability with Effective Documentation of Patient Calls

Decrease Medical Liability with Effective Documentation of Patient Calls By Charu Raheja, PhD   Many patient interactions begin with a phone call. Often, physicians and medical professionals provide medical care and instructions to patients over the phone. Unlike office visits, there is often a lack of documentation of the communication between the healthcare provider and patient. If there is a misunderstanding or a negative patient

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Triaging Elderly Patients

Triaging Elderly Patients By Nurse Manager, Marci Lawing, RN, BSN Telephone triage nurses have an extra challenge when working with the elderly. Triage nurses are not able to see their patients, communicating via the telephone, and that can sometimes be less than ideal. Phone connection issues can make the conversation even more challenging. Along with the fact that the patient may be hard of hearing

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What Makes a Good Telephone Triage Nurse

What Makes a Good Telephone Triage Nurse By Marci Lawing, RN, BSN Telephone Triage Nurses are a special breed. Evaluating an individual’s symptoms over the phone presents a unique challenge. Think of working in an ER without your sense of vision, smell, or touch. Nurses are taught to use all five senses when triaging patients. However, take away four of those senses and it becomes

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TriageLogic Certified as a Women’s Business Enterprise and CEO Honored by the Enterprising Women of the Year Awards

TriageLogic Certified as a Women’s Business Enterprise and CEO Honored by the Enterprising Women of the Year Awards Jacksonville, FL (March 7, 2017) –  TriageLogic is now certified as a Women’s Business Enterprise and Women Owned Small Business by the Women’s Business Enterprise National Council (WBENC), the nation’s largest third-party certifier of the businesses owned and operated by women in the U.S. CEO Charu Raheja,

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Triaging Heart Attack

Triaging Heart Attacks Over the Phone By Marci Lawing, RN BSN For triage nurses, evaluating patients over the phone who may be having a heart attack can be challenging. Not all patients show the same symptoms leading to or during a heart attack, sometimes the symptoms of a heart attack can be rather subtle.  There is even the rarely talked about “silent heart attack”.  That

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Improve Nursing Staff Training and Patient Care with myTriageChecklist®

Improve Nursing Staff Training and Patient Care with myTriageChecklist® For over six years, hundreds doctors’ offices have relied on TriageLogic’s myTriageChecklist® to determine and document the appropriate level of care when their patients call with symptoms. MyTriageChecklist provides a convenient and reliable, web-based solution for offices looking to increase their quality of patient care. Using Schmitt-Thompson, the gold standard for telephone triage, myTriageChecklist helps ensure

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Multnomah County Health Department uses TriageLogic® to Streamline Patient Calls and Save Unnecessary ER visits

Multnomah County Health Department uses TriageLogic® to Streamline Patient Calls and Save Unnecessary ER visits   Jacksonville, FL. (February 7, 2017) – TriageLogic® announces the implementation of myTriageChecklist® for Multnomah County Health Department. Multnomah County Health Department was searching for a way to improve the consistency of the advice given to patients. MyTriageChecklist has been able to provide that consistency with the Schmitt-Thompson, electronic-based protocol

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Title for TriageLogic's Winter 2019-Spring 2020 Care News

Care News Winter – Spring 2017

This issue highlights the new mobile applications for My 24/7 Healthcare and Continuwell.

The TriageLogic Medical Director, Dr. Ravi Raheja, discusses the new features in the updated myTriageChecklist.

We feature a customer spotlight on Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta and an employee spotlight on Rose Moon, our Clinical Educator and IT Support Manager.

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Letter from the Medical Director: January 2017

TriageLogic was the first company to create a free standing triage checklist, myTriageChecklist®, for nurses to use during the day with the Schmitt-Thompson daytime protocols. Hundreds of doctors’ offices currently rely on our system to determine and document the appropriate level of care when their patients call with symptoms. TriageLogic continues to invest in technology to assist doctors and patients. In addition to new mobile

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CEO Perspective: January 2017

  Happy New Year! TriageLogic has exciting new plans for 2017. We are launching new products and services, with two new mobile applications (apps) – Continuwell® and My 24/7 Healthcare™.  MyTriageChecklist® has a new look and website too. We are excited about the growth and new opportunities for the TriageLogic Group to continue helping you take care of your patients and improve your practice. With

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TriageLogic® Announces Continuwell ®– An Innovative Nurse-First Model to Improve Telehealth.

Jacksonville, FL – TriageLogic Management and Consulting, LLC, announces the launch of Continuwell, a new telehealth product for businesses and organizations to decrease employee health care expense and reduce employee sick days. This innovative service is designed to complement and enhance any existing wellness or telemedicine offering already in place, or offer a turnkey solution. You take care of your patients, but who takes care

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TriageLogic Case Study : Breath-Holding Spells

TriageLogic Case Study : Breath-Holding Spells     A TriageLogic nurse recently answered a call from a very anxious mother of a 2-year-old. This mother told the nurse she was in a department store, getting ready to have family pictures done and her 2-year-old was having a temper tantrum and started crying because she couldn’t have an ice cream cone. The crying got louder as the

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TriageLogic Implements Nurse Triage Call Center Software for Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta

Jacksonville, FL. (October 19, 2016)-   TriageLogic announces the implementation of their Nurse Triage Call Center Software for Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta, the largest healthcare provider for children in Georgia. TriageLogic’s call center platform has been adapted and customized to fit the unique telephone triage needs of the hospitals and community phone lines for Children’s. Children’s is a not-for-profit organization that is over 100 years old.

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