Telephone triage has been occurring since the creation of the telephone. In fact, it is said that Alexander Graham Bell used his phone to call for help when he spilled acid on himself (Johnson, Johnson, 1990).
Health maintenance organizations (HMOs) began to establish "gatekeeper" or telephone advice services in the 1970s.
In the 1980s, isolated programs were developed around the country, to service after-hour calls regarding access to health care (Wheeler, Windt, 1993).
By 1997, 35 million Americans had access to an established telephone triage system. Today telephone triage nursing has been encompassed by the broader term telehealth nursing. Teleheath nursing involves the delivery, management and coordination of nursing services via any of various forms of telecommunications, including: telephone, video conferencing, internet chat, e-mail, FAX, etc. The goal is to remove the time and distance barriers between providers and patients.
Please click here for an excellent resource onTelephone Nurse Triage by Sara Courson, BSN
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