One of the big advantages of signing up with a medical answering service, like Apello, is allowing fully trained agents to handle calls whenever your office is not able to do so. That could mean just nights, weekends, and holidays or throughout the day as needs arise. There is no need to worry about triage, either. Our medical agents are highly specialized professionals, fully trained in all the skills appropriate to handling medical calls.
Medical triage is about determining the nature and severity of a medical emergency in order to determine the best course of action. Telephone agents need to do so quickly, correctly, and with a clear state of mind. That is where specialized training comes in.
Top 3 Questions = OLD
A properly trained phone agent will know the questions to be asked and the order in which to ask them. Agents are often trained using a proven nursing mnemonic known as OLD CARTS. The mnemonic represents an easy way to remember the questions. The top three come from the OLD part of the mnemonic:
1. Onset of Symptoms
Medical answering service agents are trained to begin by asking when the onset of symptoms first occurred. An agent might ask the patient when they first noticed their symptoms. The agent will also want to know whether the symptoms suddenly appeared or developed gradually. The patient’s answers help establish a timeline that will play into the urgency question.
2. Location of Symptoms
Next up is symptom location. An agent will ask the caller to describe where the symptoms are being experienced. Also important is whether the symptom has spread or is radiating to other parts of the body. The goal here is to determine the affected areas and the severity of the symptoms in each .
3. Duration of Symptoms
Third up is symptom duration. In other words, is the symptom constant or does it come and go? In the case of the latter, the agent will want to know how long each episode of the symptom lasts. Asking about symptom duration provides insights into the nature of the symptoms and what they could mean.
These three questions are at the heart and soul of the OLD CARTS mnemonic. But as you might have noticed, there are still five letters remaining. They represent five additional questions that can be asked if circumstances warrant and they would help the agent better understand the patient’s circumstances.
More Information Improves Triage
Effective phone triage requires information. The more information an agent has to work with, the better their triage should ultimately be. So when circumstances dictate, an agent will ask the following additional questions:
- Could you describe the nature of your symptoms? (Character)
- Are there any activities or circumstances that make the symptoms worse? (Aggravating factors)
- Have you found anything that provides relief or reduces severity? (Relieving factors)
- Do the symptoms have a particular pattern or circumstance tied to severity? (Timing)
- On a scale of 0-10, how would you rate the severity of your symptoms? (Severity)
It would be unreasonable for a company to provide medical answering services while its agents lacked the ability to perform medical triage. An answering service unable to triage calls can do little more than take messages and for them to clinicians. That is not very helpful.
You have the right to expect the very best from your medical answering service. That includes professional, fully trained, and specialized agents capable of handling any call that comes in – including those requiring triage. That’s what you get from Apello’s medical answering service.
