Page 38 - 2022 Risk Basics - Systems

SVMIC Risk Basics: Systems

Telephone Systems

Telephone Triage

In addition to written telephone service standards, there should be written
policies to assist telephone response personnel in advising patients and

directing calls to the appropriate staff. The policy should:

• Define what types of calls are routine vs. urgent vs. critical.

• Instruct where such calls are to be directed; i.e., when it is
appropriate to transfer the caller to a clinical staff person or the

physician.

• Define response times for each type of call:

» If it is determined that the call is urgent, respond immediately.

» If it is determined that the call is non-urgent and cannot be
returned until later, staff should advise the patient when a

response can be expected, but they should be all returned by
the end of the day.

Clinical Advice Protocols

All physicians receive calls from patients needing clarification of medical
instructions, treatment, etc. This responsibility frequently falls to the staff.

However, it is often difficult for the staff to handle telephone questions
efficiently and appropriately without written, standardized protocols to

reference before giving the patient this information. Initially, staff could
benefit from the use of written phone triage protocols, which would assist

them in determining how to direct callers to the correct staff person for
his or her inquiry.

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