title: Help on the line: telephone-triage use, outcomes, and satisfaction within an uninsured population.
abstract: Telephone triage programs have been shown to be cost-effective and favorably utilized by insured populations. However, there are 45 million Americans who are uninsured and who do not have access to telephone nursing. A telephone triage service was piloted for local uninsured residents. Within the 17-month trial period, 320 calls were received, representing 207 clients. This study reports on the results of the telephone survey with a cross-sectional sample of uninsured triage patrons (N = 80). One half reported they would have sought other medical care if the telephone triage service had not been available. Most callers (98%) believed that their health care concern was understood. Moreover, 98% agreed with the advice given, and 90% reported following up on the advice given. Overall satisfaction by the uninsured population with the telephone-based nurse triage service was positive and appears to be an effective and acceptable tool by those uninsured individuals who utilized its services.
authors.affiliation: University of Kansas, School of Medicine-Wichita, Kansas, USA.
authors.forename: Ruth
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Wetta-Hall
authors.forename: Gina M
authors.initials: GM
authors.lastname: Berg-Copas
authors.forename: S Edwards
authors.initials: SE
authors.lastname: Dismuke
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D003153:Community Health Services / Q000458:organization & administration* / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D004522:Educational Status; D005260:Female; D015277:Hotlines / Q000458:organization & administration* / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D017057:Medically Uninsured; D008875:Middle Aged; D009732:Nursing Care / Q000458:organization & administration*; D017060:Patient Satisfaction; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires