Transforming Patient Care with Advanced Medical Call Centers
Written by:
Joe Chow, MD, Adult Medical Director, AccessNurse
The Early Years
Ask hospital CEOs or healthcare practice leaders what are some of the top issues that keep them up at night, and no doubt financial pressures, in one iteration or another, is likely to be their answer. Whether it is the increased cost to keep a hospital or practice solvent, to increased resources needed to keep patient access sufficient to demands and decrease clinician burnout, these are all just some of the immense pressures that face the healthcare industry. Any segment of a practice that can improve patient care, accessibility, decrease clinician burnout and decrease costs is truly a win-win for all.
I recall many decades ago carrying my pager when I was on call. I kept it next to my nightstand for fear of missing any pages. Most nights it led to interrupted sleep (for myself and wife), a predilection for just referring to the ER given the unfamiliarity of the patient, documenting my advice on paper (aging myself) to add to the chart, and a less than productive next day working at the hospital or office. And often it was just reassurance that the patient needed at that time.
Fast forward during my early career the rise of hospitalists and nurse medical call centers- these additions greatly enhanced my work life balance, and frankly, they often did it more efficiently than me given that’s all they did and they work at night. These additions continued to improve, including medical call centers, who can respond to more than just reassurance questions- they now can respond to clinical symptoms, lab results (think high INR or K) and medication questions, to name a few. They may also be the first response to something more serious and provide emergent advice and call 911 for the patient.
Many call centers follow industry standards and have access to an on call physician, whether via phone or telemedicine platforms. Their communication platform often mimics the clinician’s EMR and have those conversations and advice documented, ready to go into your EMR. These services contribute to improved patient care access and reduced burnout for the clinician, while lowering costs through avoidance of unnecessary ER visits and improved clinician production for the following day.
AccessNurse – A Trusted Leader in Medical Call Centers
AccessNurse is the premier medical call center. Staffed by experienced nurses, AccessNurse follows the industry standard Schmitt Thompson guidelines and uses a proprietary communication tool to return the documented outcome to the clinicians next day. For those higher complex cases, availed to AccessNurse is virtual medicine back up through Fabric, as well as medical directors specialized in adult, pediatric and obstetrics/gynecology medicine. With 29 years of call center experience, 98.7% client retention, and URAC accreditation, AccessNurse is the trusted leader in medical call centers across the country.
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