An Analysis of the Use of the Telephone in the Management of Patients in Skilled Nursing Facilities

Abstract

There is a significant telephone call burden associated with care of patients in skilled nursing facilities. Most of these calls are routine, regulation driven, and often no return call is necessary. For many reasons, including poor reimbursement, much of the medical care delivered occurs as a result of these calls, and methods of managing the communication burden to allow prioritization both by the staff nurse and the physician need to be found. In the practice described, the voice mail system is a positive step in this direction.