Geriatric Symptom Protocols for Improved Triage in Offices and Assisted Living

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): For medical practices, a major challenge is managing the hundreds of telephone calls received daily, many of which are about new or worsening medical symptoms. Particularly difficult are calls from persons with little or no medical training about frail older persons living at home or in assisted living (AL) communities. Incoming calls are typically answered by a receptionist with little medical training, who takes basic information and passes the call to an office nurse,who resolves the call with occasional provider backup. Consistent, high-quality management and documentation of these telephone contacts is a formidable task for both medical offices and AL communities. Standard protocols and triage systems exist for obstetrics, pediatrics, and general adult medicine, but no geriatric-specific products exist, and integration of telephone information-gathering systems with electronic health records (EHRs) is rudimentary. Thus, a growing need exists in the healthcare m