More than 80% of Internet users have searched for health-related information. They're checking on symptoms, trying to figure out what to do or where to go. Nurse telephone triage meets this same basic need: helping callers get to the right resource for care at the right time. Often the best service for your patients happens [...]
Our previous article Annual Updates Part One – Publishing is Easy! discussed how you can review the protocol changes in an annual update from the protocol authors, then publish the new protocols for your nurses to use. But what happens during an update if you've previously customized one or more of the protocols? Do your [...]
Dr. Schmitt, Dr. Thompson, and their team release updates to their nurse telephone triage protocols annually based on changes in national guidelines, research reviews, and feedback from users of the protocols. ClearTriage customers received updates to the office hours protocols this week, shortly after they were released to us by the authors. So as a [...]
Does your practice have patients who frequently call over the weekend? Would a decrease in these calls help make the weekend more pleasant for your on-call clinicians? Consider having your nurse triage staff call these patients on Thursdays or Fridays to check in and see if they are having any symptoms, need prescription refills or [...]
We’re happy to see that some of you have started using the triage-to-telemedicine feature we released a couple weeks ago! You’re marking triage questions as “Video Visit Eligible” in order to prompt your nurses to offer a video visit to those callers. However, we’re also hearing from some of you that you’re not sure where [...]
With over 50 million Spanish speakers, the United States now has the second-largest Spanish-speaking population in the world, after Mexico. While many Spanish speakers also speak English, only half self-identify as speaking English "very well". These numbers are hard to ignore, as is their impact on the delivery of healthcare in primary care settings. Studies [...]
Telemedicine (using technology to provide healthcare at a distance) is a hot topic these days. And while nurse telephone triage is one of the earliest forms of telemedicine, what’s making news is remote video visits. Or more specifically, patients and providers having video conversations using smartphones, computers, or specialized equipment. However, with all of the [...]
We were grateful to be able to spend time talking about the legal aspects of documenting a nurse telephone triage call with Barbara Hansen, Legal Nurse Consultant with Medical Resource Network. We hope it's interesting and informative for you! Here’s an overview of our conversation: Barbara’s Background The Purpose of Clinical Documentation Clear, Concise and [...]
In this conversation with Paul D. Vanchiere, MBA of Pediatric Management Institute, we explore the financial implications of practices and clinics offering nurse telephone triage. ClearTriage: It’s exciting to be able to talk with you today about telephone triage from a practice management perspective! So far in our blog articles we’ve interviewed nurses and other [...]
How does the breakdown of telephone triage call dispositions in your office compare with that of your peers around the country? And how do the protocols you use most frequently compare with what other offices use? While ClearTriage doesn’t store patient information, we do keep track of the protocols and dispositions our customers are using. [...]