The nature of telephone nursing interventions in a heart failure clinic setting.
BACKGROUND
There is a lack of published data about the nature of nursing interventions that are required to provide telephone management for patients with heart failure (HF).


OBJECTIVE
The nature of patient issues, telephone nursing interventions, and associated workload at one HF clinic are described in this study.


METHODS
Workload was captured using a computerized workload measurement tool. An electronic telephone log categorizing nursing interventions as providing education, changing medication doses, ordering diagnostic tests and consulting with community health care providers, and the scope of practice required to complete the intervention was kept.


RESULTS
Nurses spent 24% of their working hours doing 1914 telephone visits in one year. Medications were changed 583 times and diagnostic tests were ordered 207 times. Nurses initiated 65% of calls; others were received from patients, family members, and other health care providers.


CONCLUSIONS
A combination of nurse practitioners and registered nurses with medical directives can address the issues that commonly arise through telephone management of HF patients.
Staples
Patti
P
CHF Clinic, Hotel Dieu Hospital, 166 Brock Street, Kingston, ON K7L 5G2. staplesp@hdh.kari.net
Earle
Wendy
W
D000553:Ambulatory Care / Q000458:organization & administration* / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D019468:Disease Management; D006333:Heart Failure / Q000451:nursing*; D006801:Humans; D009722:Nurse Practitioners; D009864:Ontario; D013647:Task Performance and Analysis; D055817:Telenursing / Q000458:organization & administration*; D013689:Telephone; D000078329:Workforce; D016526:Workload