TriageLogic released a white paper that shares data they’ve compiled on the accuracy of messages that answering services send to providers. They found that close to 30 percent of messages sent were insufficient to alert a provider of a highly urgent call, increasing provider liability and potential patient morbidity and mortality. The company demonstrates how an easy-to-use tool that leverages doctor-created augmented intelligence can dramatically improve the quality and accuracy of the messages received by the provider.
Normally, when patients call their providers, they’re first greeted by nonclinical operators, like front desk agents or call center representatives. These operators determine the reasons why patients are calling and forward their messages to the appropriate nurses or providers for review. In many cases, triage nurses are responsible for vetting these messages and determining how urgent they are before calling patients back. When messages are inaccurate, it can potentially delay care and lead to poor health outcomes.
TriageLogic’s augmented intelligence-based module (MedMessage Assist) reduced callback time by 50 percent for all calls resulting in an emergency disposition. In addition, where some answering services were seeing intake errors as much as 40 percent of the time, MedMessage Assist was able to get that number down to less than 1 percent—better than any training course has been able to provide. Plus, it only takes about 15 seconds to collect additional information.
Does this mean that nonclinical operators are no longer needed? Hardly, says Dr. Charu Raheja, CEO of TriageLogic. “The goal of MedMessage Assist has always been about making it easier for nonclinical operators to do their jobs well, not replace them. By some estimates, nonclinical staff account for half of all healthcare workers, and are vital to any practice’s care coordination. What matters is giving them the best tools to thrive in their roles and pave the way for exceptional patient outcomes.”
So how does MedMessage work? TriageLogic explains that this module can be integrated with an existing health management system to analyze the text that nonclinical operators type while they’re listening to patient callers. MedMessage Assist will then prompt operators with one or more questions for them to ask their patients when the symptoms described warrant additional information to determine their severity. In this manner, messages are as detailed as possible for providers and triage nurses to identify the urgency of each call.
“We’ve seen how well this has worked for Southern Voices,” notes Dr. Raheja, “and we’ve already received several excited inquiries from other clients who are ready to try it out with their teams.”
Contact TriageLogic to learn more about MedMessage Assist and how to deliver more accurate messages to your providers. Following a demonstration, this service can be up and running within a day.
TriageLogic is a URAC accredited, physician-lead provider of high-quality telehealth services, remote patient monitoring, nurse triage, triage education, and software for telephone medicine. Their comprehensive solutions include integrated mobile access and two-way video capability. The TriageLogic group serves over 9,000 physicians and covers over 25 million lives nationwide.