Telephone triage services are ideal for medical practices seeking to offer patients a very high standard of care 24/7, 365 days a year. At times when it's impossible for the regular staff at a doctor's office to answer health care related phone calls, telephone triage can provide the vital information or support patients need.

Triage services administered by telephone are usually provided by a registered nurse, although another qualified medical professional may handle patient calls. The goal of nurse telephone triage is to provide patients with safe, appropriate information. Phone triage nurses are specially trained to offer advice and guidance in a calm, courteous way that patients will respond to, even in the face of serious health situations or emergencies.

Clinical protocols are used by telephone triage nurses in determining the severity of the health issues patients describe. Nurses who provide triage services by phone are specially trained to assess the gravity of each situation and intervene in any crisis. Although the triage nurse assesses patients' symptoms and concerns and provides education and advice, diagnoses are not made.

Nurse telephone triage is an excellent service option for a variety of types of medical practices. As an example, telephone triage can support patients of pediatrics' offices by offering guidance on what to do or when to seek urgent care services for an ill child. This may be just what a frantic parent needs at 2:00 am when no other help is readily available.

Today the majority of doctors' offices and medical practices utilize an answering service for after-hours calls. Adding telephone triage to the services a medical call center provides is usually a simple matter. If nurse telephone triage calls are billed on a per-use basis, this can also be a very affordable service for medical practices with a huge potential value for clients.