McKenzie County Healthcare Systems, Inc. (MCHS) has recently implemented a program called The Nurse Advice Line, a free 24/7 resource that allows callers access to a nurse when they have questions regarding their health, medications, or treatment.
Director of Operations, Sam Perry, said, "MCHS has had this program available for less than a year, but is now putting a stronger effort towards spreading it out into the community."
The Nurse Advice Line adds to the benefits MCHS offers the community and is supported by MCHS and its Accountable Care Organization. The Nurse Advice Line is provided through Carenet, which is a nationwide organization that has been providing clinical support through its award-winning Nurse Advice Line service for nearly 30 years. Many healthcare organizations – including commercial, Medicare, and Medicaid health plans, hospitals and provider systems, employer groups and the U.S. military have entrusted Carenet with the health and well-being of millions of their members and patients worldwide.
Perry explained that MCHS has had minimal use of the program, but verbal approval throughout the community has been positive. "Both staff and community members alike are happy to have a service like this; offering them peace of mind when living far away from town and possibly needing immediate healthcare," said Perry. By having an after-hours nurse advice line at patients' fingertips, you could save the cost of a possibly unnecessary hospital visit.
"The goal of the Nurse Advice Line is to allow for a robust and timely response to many of the daily health questions our citizens have. This free program has a goal of increasing care. It's a simple sentence with laundry lists of tasks under it that need to be addressed. By offering the Nurse Advice Line, MCHS believes we can help more patients, and by helping more patients, we are doing our job. Patients can now speak with a qualified nurse who can triage their health status and consult the patient on whether a provider visit is needed, whether they need to go to the Emergency Department, or reassure the patient that their coughing child will be alright," explained Perry.
Perry said, "Increasing the ability of our community to contact a healthcare professional, especially in those rural areas of our county and greater community, really helps calm the minds of individuals who may need to travel to seek care. Down the road, we hope to analyze the trends in data to better account for the healthcare needs of our community."
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