During the last few months, we’ve seen big changes in the healthcare industry. With the COVID-19 pandemic threatening to overwhelm practices and hospitals nationwide, healthcare workers have learned some lessons that we will carry forward. One of those lessons is the importance of effective triage.
Nurse triage has allowed hospitals and even whole municipalities to organize their COVID response. As the COVID pandemic rapidly evolved, patients were understandably anxious and concerned and needed to reach out for guidance and reassurance. At the same time, office locations were closed and unable to see patients as they were accustomed to doing. Nurse triage allowed nurses to remotely screen people using standardized protocols and determine the appropriate level of care, providing reassurance. Identifying who needs urgent care first allows doctors to allocate precious resources and time efficiently. For one example among many, TriageLogic helped a county in New Jersey set up a COVID-19 hotline, which assisted in screening callers for the need for COVID testing. The hotline ramped up in a matter of days and handled thousands of phone calls.
TriageLogic jumped into overdrive to help new and existing clients handle the coronavirus outbreak. We saw call volume skyrocket and knew that systems and software would need to be put into place for healthcare institutions to assist with the increased demand in a remote care environment. Our software solutions, which use the gold-standard Schmitt-Thompson protocols, had COVID protocols included to provide the latest standard of care as the CDC recommendations evolved. We implemented the COVID protocols in our system and on our call center software client systems. We also quickly set-up additional hospitals with a nurse triage software platform to allow their nurses to work remotely and assist in the screening of COVID phone calls.
Using nurse triage protocols in conjunction with doctor e-visits improves coordination of care, and allows doctors to safely delegate responsibility to their nurses. Our software has recommendations for nurses to transfer to doctor telehealth visits when applicable. The software also enables the nurses to text/email custom information sheets to patients when scheduling their e-visit, so the patients are fully informed about the process and how to connect with their doctor.
Using remote nurse triage allows contagious individuals to be screened and keep staff safe and healthy. One of the biggest benefits to using protocols remotely is that it keeps hospitals from being overcrowded with less seriously ill patients.
Protocols have always been important for doctor practices and hospital systems; for quality of care, legality, and more. Now, we are seeing their importance magnified. Our current circumstances show us that protocols are a vital key in organizing, planning, and responding to major health events. To help our doctors evaluate triage protocols for their practices, we are now offering a FREE 30-Day Trial for the office triage software. Please contact us if you have any questions or feedback.
