As the coronavirus pandemic progresses, nurse triage is playing a critical role in helping healthcare organizations, hospitals and practices manage their overwhelmed systems. Triage nurses evaluate and direct patients to the best level of care for their symptoms. As the weeks passed since the original national emergency announcement, our nurse triage center has observed some important trends on what callers are experiencing.
Traditionally, triage nurses use standardized protocols from Drs. Schmitt and Thompson to evaluate patients. Nurses also use custom doctor orders to share handouts with patients, connect the patient to a doctor, or direct patients to appropriate local facilities such as drive-through testing centers.
The Coronavirus pandemic brought in new concerns, new protocols, and new care advice that needed to be developed to help address patient symptoms and concerns. Nurses were quickly trained and given new guidelines to address patient questions as the problem unfolded. As we look back over these last several weeks, we’ve observed changing trends among callers and new issues arising that the healthcare profession will need to address.
The First Two Weeks
Almost immediately, we observed a 30% increase in patient phone calls to triage nurses as news of the Coronavirus broke. During the first weeks most callers were worried and trying to understand which symptoms to look out for. They asked questions about the virus, what precautions to take, and where to go for further help if needed. Overall, there weren’t many reports of concerning symptoms related to COVID-19.
As time went by and the media began to pay closer attention to the virus and air all the details on news networks, we saw a swell of anxiety in our callers. While there were still not many callers who reported concerning symptoms associated with COVID-19, we started to receive more phone calls related to anxiety, depression, and suicide.
Updates on Caller Issues for the End of March and Early April
Fast forward to the last week or two. Our nurses have now received several calls from distressed patients who show the concerning symptoms of the virus. The nurses used the protocols to determine which callers now have symptoms that require further evaluation by a doctor. But while patients with COVID-19 like symptoms are sent to the appropriate level of care, we are observing a new set of problems arising.
- Patients avoiding the ER due to worry about virus transmission – Unlike anything seen before, nurses are finding that patients who have serious symptoms that require an ER visit are refusing to go. These callers are reporting that they do not want to go to the hospital for worries about catching the virus from a hospital setting, or that they don’t want to intrude on an already burdened system.
- Patients are being turned away from hospitals – The situation is further confounded when, after the caller is convinced to seek medical attention, they are turned away from hospitals. This is either because the hospital is unable or unequipped to help, or for reasons that can only really be known internally. Some cities may also have facilities that are focusing mainly on COVID-19 cases. Because of this, they do not have the capacity to help other patients. But the confusion among patients about where to go to get help can increase morbidity. This is especially true with health issues such as chest pains, which are regularly addressed and evaluated by hospitals.
Healthcare centers and hospitals are working hard to manage the extra care needed for the influx of COVID-19 patients. Many cities have developed hotlines to help alleviate the workload of healthcare professionals and determine which patients need to be seen by a nurse. New solutions are being implemented daily as we learn more about this epidemic and how it is impacting our communities.
Do you need free COVID-19 protocols or a telemedicine system to give your practices the right tools to help patients remotely? Please contact us for a free consultation on the best solution for your healthcare organization’s needs.
