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Legal issues with Teletriage. Telehealth- high risk, high stakes- October 2011. Source. The following presentation is a summary of the teletriage conference presented by Sheila Wheeler, RN, MS. For more information please visit www.teletriage.com - PowerPoint PPT Presentation
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Legal issues with Teletriage
Source
The following presentation is a summary of the teletriage conference presented by Sheila Wheeler, RN, MS. For more information please visit www.teletriage.com
Written permission to share this presentation with CNL was obtained by Lorman
What teletriaging is NOT: We are not “gatekeepers”- in no way are
we to interfere with a patient speaking with their MD or obtaining care for their child.
Providing Symptom Diagnosis- leave that to the MD’s. It is beyond the scope of nursing practice.
Nurses practicing medicine by telephone -We follow algorithms that were approved by our medical director. We do work under the supervision of MD’s at all times.
What we are NOT, continued Message-takers for the MD’s -We are
intelligent, knowledgeable, highly trained RN’s working within the subspecialty of teletriaging.
“health information”- our job is “triaging” not giving “non essential health information” or “appointment makers”
Telemarketing- We are not selling anything to our patients. The clients call us for a very specialized service.
The rights of teletriage… Getting patients to the right level of
care, at the right facility, at the right time with the right provider
Legal issues Negligence-failure to provide due care to the
patient. In Teletriage it is defined as failure to communicate significant information in a timely manner to the physician or patient
Duty of Due Care -duty that the nurse owes the patient- competent care. Must do what a reasonable, prudent nurse would do in a similar situation
Implied Relationship –between the nurse and the patient. Relationship begins the moment the nurse answers phone.
Client Abandonment -anytime the professional unilaterally terminates the relationship without adequate replacement
Nurses responsibility
It is not incumbent on the patient to provide all pertinent information. It is the nurses responsibility to ask all the appropriate questions and make an informed decision based on her assessment
Area’s of potential risk Practicing outside the scope of nursing -happens
when nurses start making diagnoses. Nurses can form a nursing impression or working diagnosis. We triage, NOT diagnose.
Delay or denial of care- If the disposition is See in ED Now, the patient can NOT wait 4 hrs- They must go NOW
“duty to terrify” - term developed by a physician-attorney. The nurse must apprise callers of the seriousness of the symptoms they are describing in order to motivate them to seek the appropriate level of care in a timely manner.
If the disposition is 911 or ED be sure to ask/state: I need you to call 911 now- will you
do that? This could be a life threatening
emergency- will you go to the ED in the next hour?
Most lawsuits are brought about d/t delay of care.
Management Pitfalls Lack of adequate number of staff - call
volume is usually heavier on Monday, Fridays, after 3 day holidays and during cold/flu
Lack of Qualified Staff – average of 5-10 years of nursing experience, good judgment and critical thinking skills. Telephone charisma-good teaching skills, integrity, resourcefulness
Lack of Adequate training Lack of Protocols/Documentation Lack of Standards
Triage Nurse Pitfalls Inadequate “talk time” - nurse did not take the time
to elicit enough information to make an informed decision
Insufficient Data Collection -nurse did not ask enough questions to make an informed decision/adequate assessment
Weak Critical Thinking Skills -sloppiness. Must be vigilant on the phone. Health history, medications, allergies, chronic diseases ALL factor into your decision
Insufficient Documentation – if it’s not written, it wasn’t said!
Protocol Misuse -be sure to review the “see other guideline” section and read the description/definition of each protocol.
Avoiding misuse of protocols Perform a thorough assessment
before choosing a protocol Remain open to new information
Using Critical Thinking skills Critical thinking requires time.
Inadequate time= inadequate data The elderly and pediatric clients often
present with Ill structured, novel or atypical symptoms.
Rationale: their immune systems are not fully developed (pediatric) or are starting to break down (elderly). These patients often present in atypical ways
Nurse negligence claims: Failure to use a systematic approach
or process. Always follow the Nursing Process
Failure to use (or improper use of) protocols/guidelines
Failure to make safe disposition-within a timely manner
Failure to communicate significant information in a timely manner to patient or physician
Nurse negligence claims
Failure to document Delay in returning call Delay in care
Reducing risk
Practice Standard of Care Systematic assessment- includes the
Nursing Process and critical thinking skills In Teletriage: Assessment, impression or
working dx, plan, self evaluationAssessment Tools:
SAVED, SCHOLAR, PAMPER, ADL, DEMERITProtocol UseDocumentation
SAVED = YOUR RED FLAGS
S-Severe Symptoms ( can be pain, diarrhea, vomiting, rashes, ANY severe symptom)
A- Age V- Veracity E- Emotional Distress or Stress D- Debilitation or Distance
SAVED- The “S”
Symptom-Based: ANY severe symptoms (pain, bleeding, diarrhea, rash etc…)
Strange Symptoms: “Atypical” ie “worst”, “new”, “sudden”, “unexpected”, “recurrent”
Suspicious Symptoms: the BIG SIX- head, chest, respiratory, abdomen, flu and dizziness)
SAVED- The “A” – Age Based High Risk populations are: Very Young Very Old Child bearing age Men over 35 Women over 45
SAVED- The “V”- Veracity: getting the facts right. Second Party Third Party Pre-Verbal Confusion Aphasia Language Barrier
SAVED- The “E”- Emotion Based Emotional Distress or Stress Frequent phone calls in a brief period
of time High anxiety vs Denial Lack of Affect
SAVED- The “D”- Debilitation/Distance Debilitation: chronic
Illness/homelessness Mental illness Children: Frequent minor illnesses: URIs,
Oms Frail Elderly Distance: More than 2-3 hours from
hospital raises urgency for some problems
Traffic gridlocks
The most frequently misdiagnosed conditions that lead to malpractice are Ectopic Pregnancies, MI, Appendicitis
Reducing risk Document, Document, Document! Be
brief but concise and complete Document those pertinent negatives Use the patients own words with quote
marks Only use approved terms/abbreviations Use overlapping time frames- when
symptoms started, what time treatment started, when you told the patient to seek treatment (ETA!)
Reducing Risk, cont.
Asking what medications the patient takes on an daily basis can clue you into what chronic diseases they have.
Assure your client is stable before entering protocol. Always perform your preliminary assessment first!
SCHOLAR: Obtaining a thorough History S- Symptoms and Associated Symptoms C- Characteristics H- History of symptoms in the past O- Onset L- Location (diffuse or localized) A- Aggravating Factors (what makes it
worse) R- Relieving Factors (what makes it
better)
PAMPER- Patient History
P- Pregnant or LNMP A- Allergies M- Medications P- Previous Medical History E- Emotional Distress or Stress R- Recent Injury, Illness or Ingestion
Silent/Atypical/Novel Symptom Presentation
ADL: This is practically all you have to go on with infants and the frail elderly. Compare “now” with what is “normal” for patient.
ASK: intake (liquid and food); Output (urine, BM, emesis, diaphoresis); sleeping (too much, too little); Activities: disinterested in usual activities; Mood (marked changes); Color (pale, red, blue, grey, ashen); skin (turgor) lips/tongue/tears.
A DEMERIT- Assessing Infants A-Any extreme change of behavior:
irritable/inconsolable; crying/clingy OR extremely quiet and disengaged.
D- Difficult to awaken or keep awake E: Expression: decreased M-Movement: little or no spontaneous movement E- Eye Contact: decreased focus/caregiver
recognition R- Refusal to eat/nurse/bottlefeed I- Interactivity: decreased T- Talking/babble: decreased
Rules of Thumb (ROT)
A method or procedure based on experience and common sense. Not necessarily scientifically accurate.
Rules of Thumb Kids get sicker quicker Once an ectopic, always an ectopic
(until ruled out by a medical provider)
Any pain btw the nose and navel is chest pain until proven differently
All snakes are poisonous until proven differently
ROT: the 8 Extreme’s of an MI
Extremes in: Emotion Weather -very hot or very cold Exertion- Age (over 75 is higher risk) Eating (too much) Epigastric distress Essential hypertension Early am
Use the Nursing Process
Assessment Working Diagnosis Plan (per protocol) Evaluation
TIMELY ACCESS to CARE
Be sure to direct the patient to the nearest/safest and most prudent facility. Directing a patient with moderate to severe asthma symptoms to an ED > 1 hr away may result in severe complications!
Nursing Judgment/Intuition No Protocol can provide all the
answers. Teletriage Nurses rely heavily on their nursing experience, judgment and intuition. You must engage ALL of your senses to assure your patients are safe and all reach the appropriate level of care. Never assume that all vomiting is the stomach flu, all coughs are just colds or all bumps on the head are benign!
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