Telephone Triage in Pediatric Primary Care (S2:E8)

Bart Schmitt, MD, pioneer and father of telephone triage pediatric protocols, discusses the role of telephone triage in the pediatrician's office. Dr. Schmittis the Medical Director of General Pediatric Consultations at Children's Colorado.

In this episode:

• Introduction to telephone triage and pediatric telephone protocols for nurses
• The benefits and importance of having protocols for a call center and medical practice caring for pediatric patients
• Why pediatricians offer telephone care and telehealth more often than other specialists
• Why electronic protocols are better than a book
• The importance of second-level physician triage for after-hours calls
• How pediatric telephone triage protocols and resources like the symptom checker support patient-centered care

Telephone triage resources:

• ChildrensMD, the pediatric symptom checker app for parents (iTunes,Google Play)
• "Pediatric Telephone Protocols"
• ParentSmart HealthlineTM, Children's Hospital Colorado's 24/7 telephone triage