Doctors answering services

[menot]

I work at a Doctor's answering service actually working a grave yard now, and I'm just curious. What do most nurses think of answering services? Have you ever had a rude operator? I can honestly say that I'm a good operator, I've been doing this job off and on since 1998. I am asking this question cause nurses calling from hospitals are by far my easiest and favorite calls.

[menot]

The only time I deal with an answering service (via the hospital's paging system- we call them, they do the paging) is when I'm in the OR after hours. I can honestly say that the biggest issue is that NO ONE ANSWERS THE PHONE! If you're going to page, someone needs to be available to answer the return call. Other than that, I bypass the answering service and direct page or text my surgeons.[/quoteMaybe they all had to use the restroom at the same time

[dishes, BSN, RN]

I am surprised to hear that some doctors still use answering services, the doctors I work with have pagers, cell phones, faxes and emails, they haven't had answering services for decades.

[menot]

I've never had any real problems with answering service operators. It was sometimes frustrating to get an operator that had no medical knowledge; I hated trying to give a reason for my call in laymen's terms knowing that it was going to the doctor without proper med terms. We did have a doc stop using an answering service because the operators decided to start only paging him when they thought it was important enough...

Sometimes if I don't understand what a nurse is saying medically I just say please call has med questions re pt name

[menot]

I am surprised to hear that some doctors still use answering services, the doctors I work with have pagers, cell phones, faxes and emails, they haven't had answering services for decades.

Its cause they don't want patients having their numbers, so they use us to still let patients reach them for emergencies. If I was a doctor I wouldn't give out my number, I've actually had patients try to get it from me.

[menot]

Menot,using the chance, may I ask you a few questions? I have to use such services regularly calling specialists, and, sorry to say this, it is absolutely not something I like to do. So:- I do understand that you need patient's identification. What I do not get is why so often calling services need THAT much of it. First name, last name, hospital, unit, date of admission, med record - it is understandable. But date of birth, last four numbers od SSN, separate EMR ID, room number, which can change any second?? Being a nurse yourself, you probably know that another nurse on the other end of the phone has no clue of what you might need. I would have to go somewhere and peruse the chart or ask patient about that SSN (and it is not the fact that patient can or will agree to provide it). Can you just get the doctor call me back without it, especially if I said that it is an emergency?- is it absolutely necessary to put caller (your fellow very busy nurse, that is) on hold so many times in a row? My personal record was six times, a good 5 min each... after what I said in not too pleasant tone that there will be no more holds.- why the operators can take upon themselves to decide what they are dealing with? I had multiple specialists calling back after code was over and patient down to ICU turned mad because "nobody told me"... well, I told the operator that things were getting hotter by minutes, with details. She was supposed to write down and communicate that last set of vitals, at least.Where I work, we try our best to avoid calling services by any means. We have all permanent consultants' cell phones for emergencies, but sometimes it still happens, and too often it leads to, at the very least, unacceptable delays of care, which are then thrown on us because "it is floor nurses' responsibility to reach the consult". This is precisely what we were trying to do for DAYS in a row, but what could be done with answering service which holds nurses up hanging for half an hour and then promices to call back and never does it?

I'm not a nurse still deciding working at a service is helpful in helping to decide which area I might go back into. I know I wont work peds or labor, trauma or brain and spine injuries seems interesting.

[applesxoranges, BSN, RN]

I was a unit clerk in an ER. The attending had to get on the phone one time and argue to get someone paged because we needed to know info about what they wanted us to do with the patient (transfer to a hospital with their privileges vs admit to our services). We have also had issues with the wife of one of the OB doctor's getting on the phone and saying that she will not wake him up because he doesn't go to our hospital (even the operator was like ***).

[Nonyvole, BSN, RN]

I love answering services...I say the patient's name, location, my name, call back number. For the service I tend to call the most (oncology), that is all they want to know and I'm getting a call back in under 30 minutes.

But, these doctors know the patients, and also know that if an ED is calling it isn't something trivial.

But for most of our specialists, we have a direct number to them and their call schedules.

[canigraduate]

I always call the answering service because that's the only option at night in my hospital. The hospitalists' answering service has it pretty streamlined. The different specialists' services, however, are varied. One doesn't have an answering service, just an automated voice mail. One, I think it was ortho, put me on hold for so long I had finished almost all my charting by the time I spoke to a person. The various cardiology groups have excellent services.

[TheCommuter, BSN, RN]

I am surprised to hear that some doctors still use answering services, the doctors I work with have pagers, cell phones, faxes and emails, they haven't had answering services for decades.

I reside in the third largest metropolitan area in the States (7 million people here) and virtually every local physician has an answering service.

Yes, yes, yes...they all have cell phones, pagers, faxes and email addresses. However, most doctors in this neck of the woods are reluctant to give out their personal numbers, so they'd rather you utilize the answering service.

[menot]

I love answering services...I say the patient's name, location, my name, call back number. For the service I tend to call the most (oncology), that is all they want to know and I'm getting a call back in under 30 minutes.

But, these doctors know the patients, and also know that if an ED is calling it isn't something trivial.

But for most of our specialists, we have a direct number to them and their call schedules.

I said earlier nurses calling from hospitals are the easiest and my favorite calls. Most of the calls I get from hospitals are for a group of doctors that deal with brain and spinal injuries. I don't think we have any oncology accounts. And that is all the info an operator should ask.

[dream'n, BSN, RN]

I have been dying to answer this. First I can not think of one reason an answering service would need any part of a ssn. The amount of info that's asked by an operator usually depends on the Doctor some need a novel others just want a name and number. As far as being put on hold I have my own rules about that, I won't put any hospital or medical staff on hold more than once. So if say you call and in that call I get 10 calls that come in, I will really quick put you on hold then answer the other calls but I just say the office name and make sure to say ans service hold please like This is Dr. Farmer's Answering Service hold please, I never say can you hold, cause I'm not giving them a choice and then I get back to you and finish, sometimes I don't even get to all the calls but I would never make you hold more than once. I will explain why I have to hold in a sec I gotta log off and log back in be back soon

Please always ask if it's ok to hold. If I have a STAT call, I let the service know not to put me on hold.

[menot]

I was a unit clerk in an ER. The attending had to get on the phone one time and argue to get someone paged because we needed to know info about what they wanted us to do with the patient (transfer to a hospital with their privileges vs admit to our services). We have also had issues with the wife of one of the OB doctor's getting on the phone and saying that she will not wake him up because he doesn't go to our hospital (even the operator was like ***).

What happened with the doctor and wife? I hope that the operators supervisor called the dr's office manager that's not cool at all. Was it a labor call?