Telephone triage and consultation: an emerging role for nurses

Telephone triage and consultation is increasingly being used to counsel patients about the appropriate level and timing of care. Nurses are becoming the most frequently used health care professionals providing this care. Although roles vary, consensus is emerging about role definition, scope of practice, and use of protocols. Professional associations and state boards of nursing are examining critical issues related to licensure and standards of practice. Nurses who practice telephone triage and consultation indicate that it is an exciting and demanding specialty with unique issues related to quality, documentation, amount of experience necessary, information resources, and supportive technology. The issues reported by practicing nurses are not necessarily those reported in the literature (e.g., liability, licensure, and practice standards). Developing or modifying current standards of practice needs immediate attention from professional nursing groups, as does the issue of licensure. Nursing educators need to be aware of this emerging role and prepare their students to function competently in this area. Finally, researchers have a rich and varied field of study around this new practice field and its impact on patient care and outcomes.