After hours calls

Specialties Ambulatory

Published

Specializes in BNAT instructor, ICU, Hospice,triage.

How does your office's doctors and practitioners handle after hours calls from patients? Do they have a triage service your do they just have the staff in the office take the calls? I know the office I used to work in, they only had coverage for the weekends. And on the weekends a nurse from the office took all the calls from Friday till Monday morning and they paid them $200 to do this.

If your office has an after hours triage nurse, how much do they pay her for this?

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Specializes in PeriOperative.

The physician I work for gives out his personal cell number for calls and texts at any hour. Patients know not to abuse the privileged. So far no one has complained, and the physician comes off as much more caring because he gives out his cell number.

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Specializes in BNAT instructor, ICU, Hospice,triage.
The physician I work for gives out his personal cell number for calls and texts at any hour. Patients know not to abuse the privileged. So far no one has complained, and the physician comes off as much more caring because he gives out his cell number.

That's wonderful that the patients view that as more caring. Studies have shown that patients are just as happy or more with a nurse that is available 24 hours a day, to provide care and education. I even have patients that have me on speed dial and call from around the world when they are sick. Also, we help the doctors get a full nights rest so that it improves their health as well. As an added bonus, Mayo clinic did a study and found that triage nurses can decrease the office workload by 40-50%, giving the office more time to focus on the patients that are there in the office.

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Specializes in PeriOperative.

I should add: the office I work at is plastics and our patient population is cosmetic or workers compensation. We want the cosmetic patients in the office as much as possible, with work comp, the nurse case manager makes the call as to whether or not the patient is seen in the office.

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For a different on call example-

when I worked outpatient Psych (we had a small inpatient bed area as well),

the nurse working 3-11 pm took the pager (this was the early 80s-no cell phones) for over night call. You received 10 dollars for carrying the pager,

and if called in then the number of hours spent at the clinic,or

off site like police station or hospital.

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