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Introducing nurse telephone triage into primary care
1School of Nursing, Midwifery and Health Visiting, University of Manchester.
Nursing Standard (Royal College of Nursing (Great Britain) : 1987)
|April 25, 2002
Summary
Implementing a nurse telephone triage system in primary care required significant changes across the entire healthcare team. This system transformed working practices, professional relationships, and job satisfaction, fundamentally altering team and patient interactions.
Area of Science:
- Healthcare Management
- Nursing Practice
- Primary Care Delivery
Background:
- Primary care practices face increasing demands.
- Effective workload management is crucial for healthcare teams.
- Existing healthcare delivery models require adaptation to meet patient needs.
Purpose of the Study:
- To describe the necessary changes for implementing a nurse telephone triage system.
- To analyze the impact of nurse triage on a primary care practice.
- To evaluate the effects on the primary healthcare team (PHCT) and patient interactions.
Main Methods:
- Qualitative description of system implementation.
- Analysis of changes in working practices.
- Assessment of impact on professional relationships and job satisfaction.
Main Results:
- Introduction of nurse triage necessitated 'whole systems' changes.
- All elements of the primary healthcare team were affected.
- Working practices, professional relationships, and job satisfaction were significantly altered.
Conclusions:
- Nurse telephone triage is more than a workload solution; it's a fundamental system change.
- The system reshaped collaborative work among nurses, doctors, and reception staff.
- Patient care delivery and interactions were fundamentally altered by the new system.