Telephone Triage Nurses

Many hospitals around the country, particularly those that are
running non profit, are finding themselves in a fiscal bind. With more
Americans than ever living without health insurance, the burden is
getting stronger on clinics and hospitals to provide care to people who
cannot afford to pay for the services they receive. Today, there have
been some new preventative measures taken to help release some of that
burden. Telephone triage nurses are one way that many hospitals are
trying to prevent “unnecessary patients.” These telephone triage nurses
are there to help people who are uncertain whether or not they should
seek more serious medical care, or if the problem can simply be treated
at home with either over the counter medication or some other form of
do it yourself treatment. Patients simply call one of the telephone
triage nurses, describe their problems, give a brief description of
themselves and answer a few questions. The nurse then makes a
determination based on this information as to what the caller should do
next.

Of course, this medical advice is not fool proof, but
all telephone triage nurses must be educated and highly trained, and
real nurses that do not just work on the phone. They are informative
and helpful and if there is any doubt, the nurse is usually advised to
seek a doctor to assist them or recommend that the patient come in
personally. On the other hand, telephone triage nurses are a great help
to our overcrowded health care system. By providing advice and
information to people who otherwise would immediately go to the
hospital or doctor’s office, they are saving medical care facilities
millions of dollars per year in care that may not be needed. In today’s
busy world, it’s nice that people can have someone to talk to and get
medical answers from without having to make a set appointment or sit in
a waiting room for hours.