The Effect of Telephone Nurse Triage on the Appropriate Use of the Emergency Department

Nursing Clinics of North America

Volumn 45, Issue 1, 2010, Pages 65-69

  Dent, Robert L ^a  

^a Midland Memorial Hospital   (United States)

Author keywords

ED throughput; Emergency department; Telephone nurse triage

Indexed keywords

EMERGENCY HEALTH SERVICE; EMERGENCY NURSING; HEALTH CARE DELIVERY; HEALTH CARE QUALITY; HEALTH SERVICES RESEARCH; HUMAN; LEADERSHIP; NURSING ASSESSMENT; ORGANIZATION AND MANAGEMENT; PATIENT REFERRAL; PATIENT SATISFACTION; REVIEW; STATISTICS; TELEPHONE; UNITED STATES;

EMERGENCY NURSING; EMERGENCY SERVICE, HOSPITAL; HEALTH SERVICES ACCESSIBILITY; HUMANS; LEADERSHIP; NURSING ASSESSMENT; ORGANIZATIONAL CASE STUDIES; PATIENT SATISFACTION; QUALITY OF HEALTH CARE; REFERRAL AND CONSULTATION; TELEPHONE; TRIAGE; UNITED STATES;

EID: 77649117538     PISSN: 00296465     EISSN: None     Source Type: Journal    
DOI: 10.1016/j.cnur.2009.10.003     Document Type: Review

References (27)

1. Bureau, U.S. Census.(n.d.). American fact finder. US. Census Bureau's. American Fact Finder. Available at:. http://factfinder.census.gov/servlet/ACSSAFFFacts?_event=ChangeGeoContex t&geo_id=05000US48329&_geoContext=&_street=&_county=Midl and&_cityTown=Midland&_state=04000US48&_zip=&_lang= en&_sse=on&ActiveGeoDiv=&_useEV=&pctxt=fph&pgs1=010&_ submenuId=factsheet_1&d Accessed August 14, 2009
2. Wilson L. Medical Director, Emergency Services at MMH (R.L. Dent, Interviewer). 2008, August.
3. Yoon P., Steiner I., and Reinhardt G. Analysis of factors influencing length of stay in the emergency department. CJEM 5 3 (2003) 155-161
4. Fortune T. Telephone triage: an Irish view. Accid Emerg Nurs 9 (2001) 152-156
5. Fry M., and Stainton C. An educational framework for triage nursing based on gatekeeping, timekeeping and decision-making processes. Accid Emerg Nurs 13 (2005) 214-219
6. Funderburke P. Exploring best practice for triage. J Emerg Nurs 34 2 (2008) 180-182
7. Light P.A., Hupcey J.E., and Clark M.B. Nursing telephone triage and its influence on parents' choice of care for febrile children. J Pediatr Nurs 20 6 (2005) 424-429
8. Cariello F.P. Computerized telephone nurse triage. An evaluation of service quality and cost. J Ambul Care Manage 26 2 (2003) 124-137
9. Code Red Task Force. Code Red: the critical condition of health in Texas. Available at: (2008). http://coderedtexas.org/ Accessed January 31, 2009
10. Cooke T., Watt D., Wertzler W., et al. Patient expectations of emergency department care: phase II-a cross-sectional survey. CJEM 8 3 (2006) 148-157
11. Greenberg M.E. Telephone nursing: evidence of client and organization benefits. Nurs Econ 18 3 (2000) 117-123
12. Hagan L., Morin D., and Lepine R. Evaluation of telenursing outcomes: satisfaction, self-care practices, and cost savings. Public Health Nurs 17 4 (2000) 305-313
13. Keatinge D., and Rawlings K. Outcomes of a nurse-led telephone triage services in Australia. Int J Nurs Pract 11 1 (2005) 5-12
14. Dale J., Williams S., Foster T., et al. Safety of telephone consultations from 'non-serious' emergency ambulance service patients. Qual Saf Health Care 13 (2004) 363-373
15. Emergency Nurses Association. Position statement telephone advice. Emergency Nurses Association. Available at: (2001). http://www.ena.org/about/position/pdfs/telephoneadvice.pdf Accessed January 31, 2009
16. Etter R., Ludwig R., Lersch R., et al. Early prognostic value of the medical emergency team calling criteria in patients admitted to intensive care from the emergency department. Crit Care Med 36 3 (2008) 775-781
17. Larson-Dahn M. Tel-eNurse Practice: quality of care and patient outcomes. J Nurs Adm 31 3 (2001) 145-152
18. Abad-Grau M.M., Ierache J., Cervino C., et al. Evolution and challenges in the design of computational systems for triage assistance. J Biomed Inform 41 3 (2008) 432-441
19. Brim C. A descriptive analysis of the non-urgent use of emergency departments. Nurse Res 15 3 (2008) 72-88
20. Lowe R.A., Localio A.R., Schwarz D.F., et al. Association between primary care practice characteristics and emergency department use in a Medicaid Managed Care Organization. Med Care 43 8 (2005) 792-800
21. Marklund B., Ström M., Mänson J., et al. Computer-supported telephone nurse triage: an evaluation of medical quality and costs. J Nurs Manag 15 2 (2007) 180-187
22. O'Connell J.M., Towles W., Yin M., et al. Patient decision making: use of and adherence to telephone-based nurse triage recommendations. Med Decis Making 22 4 (2002) 309-317
23. O'Rourke K.M., Roddy M., King R., et al. Impact of a nursing triage. Line on the use of emergency department services in a military hospital. Mil Med 168 12 (2003) 981-985
24. Raper J., Davis B.A., and Scott L. Patient satisfaction with emergency department triage nursing care: a multicenter study. J Nurs Care Qual 13 6 (1999) 11-24
25. Ruger J.P., Lewis L.M., and Richter C.J. Identifying high-risk patients for triage and resource allocation in the ED. Am J Emerg Med 25 7 (2007) 794-798
26. Wennike N., Williams E., Frost S., et al. Nurse-led triage of acute medical admissions: accurate and time-efficient. Br J Nurs 16 13 (2007) 824-827
27. Wetta-Hall R., Ablah E., Dismuke S., et al. Emergency department use by people on low income. Emerg Nurse 13 3 (2005) 12-18