Quality review of national primary care telephone triage and advice lines
Rosemary McKenzie has led three quality reviews in a series of biennial evaluations of clinical appropriateness and quality for Healthdirect Australia focussed on the after hours GP helpline and the nurse telephone triage and advice line, healthdirect.
Aims: Each of these reviews has aimed to improve the quality and safety of national telephone
primary care advice and triage services.
Key expertise provided:
- Development of a method and tools for clinical and communication review of telephone triage services, including adaptation of the use of simulated patients to the telephone environment
- Implementation and impact evaluation using mixed methods
- Translation of evidence to clinical governance and quality improvements, including participating in the development of an Australia Standard for Health Contact Centres.
Methodology:
- Development of validated clinical scenarios for assessment purposes
- Development of a standardised simulated patient role adapted to the teletriage environment
- Statistical sampling and analysis.
Findings:
The reviews have identified areas of high performance in clinical appropriateness of triage outcomes and communication as well as areas for service improvement and professional development.
Publications:
McKenzie, R., Freed, G. L., Spittal, M. J., & Williamson, M. Safety on the Line - a short report on the development of a quality improvement model for a nurse and GP helpline using simulated patients. Quality in Primary Care, 2015; 23(3), 163-166.
McKenzie, R., Dunt, D., & Robinson, M. Calling for the doctor: using simulated patients to assess the quality of nurse and GP advice on an out-of-hours telephone helpline. Journal of Medical Safety, 2015; June (1), 43-50.