Patient phone call - advising them

[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]

I always refer them to the doctor.

[RNLaborNurse4U]

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]

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, BSN, RN]

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.