title: The effect of telephone nurse triage on the appropriate use of the emergency department.
abstract: One of the first encounters many people have with a health care institution occurs in the emergency department. If that area presents a poor picture to patients and their families, the whole institution can be seen as negative. How a tertiary care facility identified a way to improve the appropriate use of the emergency dept is the focus of this article.
authors.affiliation: Midland Memorial Hospital, Midland, 2200 West Illinois Avenue, TX 79701, USA. bob.dent@midland-memorial.com
authors.forename: Robert L
authors.initials: RL
authors.lastname: Dent
mesh_terms: D016529:Emergency Nursing / Q000458:organization & administration*; D004636:Emergency Service, Hospital / Q000458:organization & administration / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D006297:Health Services Accessibility / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D006801:Humans; D007857:Leadership; D009730:Nursing Assessment / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D019982:Organizational Case Studies; D017060:Patient Satisfaction / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D011787:Quality of Health Care; D012017:Referral and Consultation / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D013689:Telephone / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D014218:Triage / Q000458:organization & administration* / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D014481:United States