Triage of medical or social issues through preoperative and postoperative telephone calls by primary nurses
Wachter, C.E.
Insight 20(2): 16-20
1995
ISSN/ISBN: 1060-135X PMID: 7650406 Document Number: 453674
A preoperative telephone call from a primary nurse decreases patient's anxiety and allows a medium for triaging medical and/or social issues which could adversely affect patients and/or cause costly delays in operating room start times. This telephone call also establishes a bond with the patient, which continues throughout the patient's hospitalization. The postoperative telephone call by a primary nurse enables the nurse to triage medical/surgical complications and to ensure the patient's understanding of postoperative instructions. The telephone calls are one way of enhancing patient care and the cost effectiveness of health care delivery.