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 a tick bite, it’s important that your triage nurses use the appropriate triage protocols to guide them to the right
Checklist to Ensure Patient Care Quality in Nurse Telehealth Triage
How do you ensure patient care quality when it comes to nurse telehealth triage? Whether you use an outsourced nurse triage service or you want to license software and use your own team, follow this checklist when addressing each and every patient caller. Not only do these important items minimize liability with remote care, but they also ensure a high quality of care for patients and a decrease in overall healthcare costs. We’ve seen firsthand how successful these items have been in our own nurse triage
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 important, and how TriageLogic addresses them within its own nurse triage call center. Nurse Accountability Nurses should be aware that
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 stay. But let’s dig a little deeper into why by addressing a few important factors. 1. Reimbursements for Value-Based Care
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 important. Reasons for Patient Call-Backs Healthcare providers make use of patient call-backs for a couple of reasons. First, call volumes
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, be mindful of their tone of voice, stay focused, and guide callers when they need emergency assistance. Here’s how our
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 how nurses can make that determination while also reassuring parent callers. Follow the 10 Critical Steps We teach how triage
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 currently report a higher percentage of available nurses. Here’s why, and how outsourced telehealth triage can offer temporary relief. Cause
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 or additional software, saving time and ensuring all doctors can view their messages. According to Becker’s Hospital Review, last year’s
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 it’s true that triage support may start with operators who ask patients an initial set of questions, it’s ultimately RNs
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 that document all of this information. Specifically, Schmitt-Thompson protocols ensure each patient caller is directed to the appropriate level of
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 is one such system and it focuses on the healthcare space. These CRM systems do not usually have clinical decision
