1. Evaluating patient compliance with nurse advice line recommendations and the impact on healthcare costs.
- Author
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Bogdan GM, Green JL, Swanson D, Gabow P, and Dart RC
- Subjects
- Adolescent, Adult, Aged, Aged, 80 and over, Child, Child, Preschool, Colorado, Data Collection, Female, Humans, Infant, Infant, Newborn, Male, Middle Aged, Health Care Costs, Nurse-Patient Relations, Patient Compliance, Telecommunications statistics & numerical data
- Abstract
Objective: To explore the effect of telephone triage and advice lines in uninsured and managed care populations served by a safety net system and to document the relationship between the patient's initial plan for healthcare, the nurse recommendation, and the patient's subsequent healthcare action., Study Design: Prospective telephone survey., Patients and Methods: Of 1538 calls to a nurse advice line in a 28-day period, 710 (46%) callers were selected to be surveyed. Of those, 278 (39%) were surveyed by telephone within 7 days of their call to assess patient compliance with recommendations, the patient's actual healthcare actions, and their satisfaction with the service., Results: Patients' reported actions were classified as either (1) home care (46%), (2) clinic visit (27%), or (3) hospital visit (27%). Seventy percent of patients complied with nurse advice line recommendations. Most patient actions (68%) differed from their original healthcare plan, with many (46%) choosing a lower intensity of care. Changes from patients' original healthcare plans had a potential annual net savings of $322 249., Conclusion: The simple act of calling a nurse triage and advice line corresponds with a change in the reported actions of uninsured and managed care patients and a potential reduction in costs to the safety net system providing their healthcare.
- Published
- 2004