Page 72 - Avoiding Surgical Mishaps Part 1

SVMIC Avoiding Surgical Mishaps: Dissecting the Risks

advice. Clinical staff giving medical advice or instructions

without written, approved protocols can be viewed as practicing
medicine without a license, and it is not in the best interest of

the public’s health, safety, and welfare. The protocol should be
detailed enough to include what clarifying questions the staff

should ask in response to various complaints, as well as when a
patient should be referred to a physician.

Using questions outlined in the advice protocol will enable the

staff to:

• More accurately describe the patient’s condition

• Give the physician relevant information so that the patient

is prescribed the most appropriate treatment or directed to
an appropriate healthcare facility, or

• Provide the patient with accurate clinical advice that
is consistent for all patients with similar symptoms or

complaints.

Any medications initiated or refilled must be directly authorized

by a physician or advanced practice provider.

Written phone triage protocols provide assistance with
telephone inquiries by your patients in a variety situations. First,

a detailed triage protocol will provide the telephone response
personnel with the information that they need in order to

determine which staff person would be appropriate to handle a
patient’s inquiry.

Once the triage protocol is consulted and a decision is made
about who is qualified to handle the caller’s concerns, a written

clinical advice protocol should be provided for the clinical staff

Page 72