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.

[wendy_UK2USA_RN]

I work nights and so I try to keep the calls to the minimum. But, when I do call the Hospitalist group, I am, always greeted by the very sunny team of Michelle or Bobbi, They are quick, sweet ladies and I think we should meet up one day and find out what we all look like after years of just hearing a voice on the phone.

[menot]

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.

I misquoted myself meant to say decide which area I might want to go into, I don't know why it put back into I've never been a nurse so can't go back into something i havent' done :)

[menot]

I work nights and so I try to keep the calls to the minimum. But, when I do call the Hospitalist group, I am, always greeted by the very sunny team of Michelle or Bobbi, They are quick, sweet ladies and I think we should meet up one day and find out what we all look like after years of just hearing a voice on the phone

I don't know if they're older woman but I always think they make the nicest operators and also the nicest ones at a medical office. I've always been curious about what some of the doctors look like.

[SleeepyRN]

I kind of like the answering service people. We have to call so frequently, we even joke about such and such MD or NP having to be paged yet again. Just my personal preference, but I prefer the person to say you're welcome, have a good night too. But I get it too that sometimes they are flooded with calls and simply hang up without even saying bye so they can get to the next caller or task.

[KatieMI, BSN, MSN, RN]

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.[/quote']

If an answering service just puts me on hold without asking, the next thing the doctor will know is that I couldn't reach him because I was hung up to. With the name of the person I spoke with - I write it down for this very purpose.

[menot]

If an answering service just puts me on hold without asking, the next thing the doctor will know is that I couldn't reach him because I was hung up to. With the name of the person I spoke with - I write it down for this very purpose.

What do you mean they don't wait for an answer? They say so and so office can you hold and just don't wait for a response. If I knew it was a patient I would seriously do that, but I get worried it might be a nurse or dr for a consult

[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 meant to ans this better. Ok the next time you don't hear from a dr. and the operator says she will page him tell him/her to please try his cell or residence. I will only try twice and then I'm calling and waking up the wife or g/f b/f or husband. Sometimes Dr's forget to turn up their text msgs.

So um where do you live? What state? I'm Colorado.

[KatieMI, BSN, MSN, RN]

What do you mean they don't wait for an answer? They say so and so office can you hold and just don't wait for a response. If I knew it was a patient I would seriously do that, but I get worried it might be a nurse or dr for a consult

It means they do not tell, and do not wait. I say that I need to speak with the doc ASAP and the next thing I hear is nice music for good five minutes. Meanwhile, the patient in question is steadily moving toward the shining light ahead. I do not have these five minutes. I do not, in fact, have even one minute.

I really doubt that the majority of answering service workers really have even a glimpse of understanding of what they are playing with. I lost count of just such calls going nowhere in dire emergencies obvious for anyone with a basic level of medical knowledge, and then listening for someone's long explanation how some place's policies just cannot be without these last four numbers of SSN and at least two calls with at least 30 min in between before calling personal cellphone. And, yes, if something bad happens as a result of blindly following these policies and schmolicies, I would not hesitate even for a second to make it all known to as high up as I can go.

P.S. my place of living has nothing to do with the business.