5 Benefits of a Telehealth Triage Provider 

Not all worker illnesses and injuries require a trip to the emergency room — or even a primary care doctor. With emergency visits costing 10 times more than urgent care visits, or 12 to 13 times more than a regular visit to the doctor’s office, sending every on-the-job injury to the emergency department gets expensive quickly. 

By utilizing a 24/7 telehealth triage service, your workers can get round-the-clock access to skilled, trained nurses who make specialized care recommendations based on their unique situation. These recommendations may range from simple first aid and allowing the employee to return to their duties to calling an ambulance. But the point of nurse triage is that it reserves the emergency care for the situations where it is truly required rather than routing every injury there. 

Here are five key benefits a telehealth triage provider can offer to your business and your employees. 

Improves Worker Outcomes 

Getting injuries evaluated quickly is key to workers making faster, more complete recoveries. Prompt evaluation allows them to get the right type and level of care when they need it, so there are fewer chances of over-treatment or under-treatment. 

Access to a 24/7 nurse triage line allows workers to call whenever they’re injured, with Medcor’s nurses answering the phones within 60 seconds. Workers then receive immediate evaluation and a recommendation for a care path.  

Injured workers who are referred for outside care then go offsite for that care, with notes sent from the nurse triage line to the provider’s facility so the provider has a head start on getting the worker the care they need. 

Cuts Down on Emergency Care Usage 

Not all work-related injuries require emergency care, even when they happen at times that urgent care facilities are closed. Many injuries can be resolved with simple first aid recommendations, or even an appointment at the worker’s primary care physician’s office the day following the injury. 

But without experienced medical care, it can be difficult to determine which injuries require emergency care and which don’t. By utilizing a telehealth triage line that’s staffed by skilled nurses, your workers receive the advice they need to get the care their injuries require and, when possible, keep them out of the emergency room. 

By keeping more injured workers out of the emergency room, you save on their healthcare costs. It also helps reduce the burden on emergency facilities, making room for those individuals who truly do require the rapid care. 

Boosts Access to Quality Care 

Many workplaces can’t offer round-the-clock access to onsite care providers for those workers who get injured. This means they may have to go to care that’s inappropriate for their injuries, such as visiting the emergency room when it isn’t truly necessary. 

Being able to call a direct-to-nurse triage line, on the other hand, offers easy access to quality care regardless of the time of day or your company’s onsite clinic structure. Your workers receive the medical advice they need — backed by evidence-based triage technology — so they can get treatment appropriate for their injuries. 

Reduces the Cost of Care 

Emergency care is expensive, as is the time required for workers to receive offsite care. Even if an employee has a minor injury and visits an emergency room, they may be off the job for the rest of their shift — possibly even the following workday. 

And workers who don’t receive prompt evaluation for their injuries could be out even longer, as delays in evaluation and treatment can slow down their recovery.  

Using a nurse triage line to evaluate injuries and route them to the proper level of care not only saves you on the costs of unnecessary medical treatment, but it saves you money that comes from missed workdays and lost productivity resulting from an injury. 

Speeds up Access to Appropriate Care 

Emergency rooms are often overcrowded and overwhelmed by individuals seeking quick access to care. This could leave an injured employee waiting hours to have their injuries evaluated, which could delay their recovery. 

Rather than sending every injured employee to seek offsite care, having a telehealth triage provider you can call boosts workers’ access to prompt injury evaluation. They can call as soon as an injury happens, no matter when it occurs, and a licensed, experienced nurse walks them through the triage process that routes them to the appropriate level of care for their needs. 

Your workers are, in turn, more satisfied with the care you provide them, as they can speak with a nurse quickly and don’t automatically head to the nearest emergency room.  

Your Telehealth Triage Partner 

At Medcor, we understand how important it is to provide quality care to your injured employees. Our 24/7 illness and injury triage line offers direct-to-nurse access so your workers receive quick, experienced care. Speak with an advocate today.