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Emergency Communication Nurse System

Assessing Call Demand and Utilization of a Secondary Triage Emergency Communication Nurse System for Low Acuity Calls Transferred from an Emergency Dispatch System

Mark Conrad Fivaz, MD, Greg Scott, MBA, EMD-QI, Jeff J. Clawson, MD, Corike Toxopeus, PhD, Matt Zavadsky, MS, Kristen Miller, JD, Neal Richmond, MD, FACEP, Christopher Olola, PhD

Aug 01, 2015|AEDR 2015 Vol. 3 Issue 2|Original Research

Telephone nurse triage at the 9-1-1 dispatch point is relatively new in the United States despite its ability to significantly reduce expensive and scarce Emergency Medical Services (EMS) resource use and emergency department visits. A previous study investigated the distribution of 9-1-1-triaged call incident types within the Emergency Communications Nurse System (ECNS) and found that 9-1-1 triage systems yielded a variety of low acuity complaints that were handled by the Emergency Communications Nurse (ECN). This study explored the current and potential utilization...

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The Distribution of Recommended Care Level Classification by Time of Day within the Emergency Communication Nurse System

Mark Conrad Fivaz, MD, Greg Scott, MBA, EMD-QI, Jeff J. Clawson, MD, Corike Toxopeus, PhD, Matt Zavadsky, MS, Kristen Miller, JD, Neal Richmond, MD, FACEP, Christopher Olola, PhD

Aug 01, 2015|AEDR 2015 Vol. 3 Issue 2|Original Research

Research has shown that two-thirds of emergency visits occur after business hours (weekdays 9am – 5pm). Therefore, identifying primary healthcare providers available after business hours is one strategy for improving appropriate access to healthcare services. Previous studies have also shown a high and steady volume of secondary triage-eligible calls throughout the day and into the evening. However, because the Emergency Communication Nurse (ECN) performing the secondary triage has some discretion on selecting the Recommended Care Level (RCL) based on resource...

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The Distribution of Recommended Care Levels by Age, Gender, and Trauma vs Medical Classification within the Emergency Communication Nurse System

Mark Conrad Fivaz, MD, Jennie McQueen, RN, Tracey Barron, BS, Jeff J. Clawson, MD, Greg Scott, MBA, EMD-QI, Isabel Gardett, PhD, Brett Patterson, Matt Zavadsky, MS, Neal Richmond, MD, FACEP, Christopher Olola, PhD

Mar 22, 2015|AEDR 2015 Vol. 3 Issue 1|Original Research

An examination of the Emergency Communications Nurse-determined Recommended Care Levels (RCLs), for calls transferred for secondary nurse-triage has not been performed. The outcome of such an investigation would help to gain a more complete picture of the type of care ultimately recommended for these patients. The Emergency Communications Nurse System (ECNS) studied contained 22 RCLs, ranging from urgent levels, including a country-specific 3-digit number Emergency response (911), and Emergency care as soon as possible to less time-dependent, low priority levels, such...

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The Distribution of 911 Triaged Call Incident Types within the Emergency Communication Nurse System™

Greg Scott, MBA, EMD-QI, Jennie McQueen, RN, Mark Conrad Fivaz, MD, Isabel Gardett, PhD, Matt Zavadsky, MS, Neal Richmond, MD, FACEP, Jeff J. Clawson, MD, Christopher Olola, PhD

Aug 07, 2014|AEDR 2014 Vol. 2 Issue 2|Original Research

This study examined the distribution of the MPDS® Chief Complaint protocols and determinant codes assigned by the EMD as eligible for nurse triage, as well as the distribution of the Chief Complaint protocols contained in the Emergency Communications Nurse System™ (ECNS™) secondary nurse triage process, as determined by the emergency communications nurse (ECN). Protocol distribution was also examined by patient gender. This study characterized protocol and gender distributions to provide a better understanding of the types of patients and their associated...

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