Telephone, in-person triage of same patients often don't agree, UCLA study concludes.
Holding the line. Telephone triage has become a popular method of managing demand for urgent or emergency care services. But this report from UCLA suggests that when two qualified triage nurses evaluate the same patient--one in person and the other over the phone--the chance that they will arrive at the same triage decision is less than a coin flip.
D002140:California; D002985:Clinical Protocols; D004636:Emergency Service, Hospital / Q000592:standards*; D009723:Nurse-Patient Relations; D019114:Remote Consultation / Q000592:standards*; D013689:Telephone; D014218:Triage / Q000592:standards*