Patient phone call - advising them

Feb 16, 2008 05:25 PM

by shortstuff31117

I'm just wondering what you all do when pts. call wondering whether they should come in or not. I usually would give advice, but now am thinking maybe I should just say I cant tell them anything without seeing them, so they should either come in or call the doctor on call.

What do you guys do? Do you have hospital protocol for this?

Wise Woman RN · Feb 16, 2008, 05:31 PM

Re: Patient phone call - advising them

I always refer them to the doctor.

RNLaborNurse4U · Feb 16, 2008, 08:18 PM

Re: Patient phone call - advising them

We're not allowed to triage phone calls on L&D, so we always refer patients who call in to L&D, to call their doctor (reminding them that even at night, their call to the office/clinic will bounce to the answering service, who will page the doctor on call).

The only ones I handle personally are ones where they ask about a baby issue - then I refer them to their pediatrician.

lela186 · Feb 16, 2008, 10:51 PM

Re: Patient phone call - advising them

We are not allowed to give medical advice on the phone. We are told that it is their decision to come in, to come on in if they feel like they need to be seen. We also usually connect them to the hosptial healthline where they are able to give them advice. This way, we are not held liable for giving medical advice if something was to happen.

babyktchr · Feb 17, 2008, 03:56 PM

Re: Patient phone call - advising them

OMG...we went round and round with a practice who puts on their answering machine...CALL L&D at the hospital if you have any questions if you are pregnant. We fought and researched and came up with an OB triage form...but ultimately we tell the patients to either come to the hospital and be seen or call the doc.

New To Site	Need Help	Quick Links
Create An Account General Site Map allnurses.com Journals Terms Of Service Privacy Policy Testimonials Meet Our Staff Advertising Information	Information Center & FAQ Boards of Nursing How-To Video Tutorials Did you forget your password? Compare Membership Contact allnurses.com Text Version Mark All Sections As Read	United States Nursing International Nursing Nursing Specialty Advanced Practice Nursing Critical Care Nursing Nursing Specialties Get In Touch... Find Us On Facebook Follow Us On Twitter

Patient phone call - advising them

Patient phone call - advising them

Nursing News

Doctors-in-short-supply-responsibilities-for-nurses-may-expa...

Less regular sleep for ICU nurses may lead to errors

Nurse sends unused medical supplies to needy nations

Premature Births Are Fueling Higher Rates of Infant...

MRSA Strain Linked to High Death Rates

RI hospital fined $150,000 in 5th wrong-site surgery since...

Nursing: One of the 6 Thriving Jobs that are Here to Stay???

Dad Fights Hospital to Keep Baby on Life Support

A nurse can dream...about awesome nursing

California Nursing Situation - CINHC's plan to help New...

Nursing Articles

Why am I doing this, anyway?

Nurse Heal Thyself

My Papa, why I am the nurse I am today.

I made it through

An angel's gaze

A Sister Never Forgets

Ruby's Marbles

What Do Operating Room Nurses Do?

My Little Old Jedi

I love this job......

"I hear voices"

Preventing FRUTI (Foley Related Urinary Tract Infection) in...

Error and Attitude

It's Just a Shower

Searching for the Purpose

Available Topics (tags)