AMM’s Nurse HelpLine Provides a Convenient Way to Get Critical Medical Information When You Need It Most
Vice President/COO, Alicare Medical Management
The other day, a friend relayed that she had received several text messages from her children in a relatively short period of time while she was preparing dinner. The funny thing is that while one child was at the local mall, the other two were in the house. Whatever happened to face-to-face conversations?
That got me thinking about how our communications are changing within families and society at-large. Of course, there are both “pros” and “cons” to the brave new world of electronic interfaces. The negatives are obvious such as a child really should walk down the stairs to talk to her mother. But there are also many positives, such as the GPS tracking signal emitted from the cell phone owned by the teenage daughter of my friend (just kidding).
On a more serious but related note, Alicare Medical Management (AMM) is experiencing a significant increase in the number of individuals calling in for health advice and support through the AMM’s Nurse HelpLine -- whether calling via a hard-wired or mobile phone. Through AMM’s experienced registered nurses, patients and health care groups can access the Nurse HelpLine through an assigned toll free telephone number anytime and anywhere -- 24/7. Yes, you need to see a provider face-to-face when something serious is going on or for your annual physical examination. On the other hand, there are many times when an initial phone call with a nurse is a logical first step to address a medical issue or question.
Using nationally recognized advanced clinical criteria, AMM’s registered nurses can assess the caller's symptoms or concerns to determine the appropriate level of care for the caller. In addition, our registered nurses can provide health information and educational advice to patients and their families. Telephone-based triage and health care counseling allows the nurse to assess health status and provides immediate health information, directing patients to the appropriate level of care and reducing health care costs and offering peace of mind to the caller to have access to a registered nurse anytime. Another benefit of the Nurse
HelpLine program is helping to reduce unnecessary emergency room and physician visits and providing patients with information they can use immediately, as well as advise for care at the appropriate level for the concern they are calling about.
Currently, over two million people have access to Alicare Medical Management’s Nurse HelpLine, which is accredited by URAC, a non-profit quality-benchmarking group. The rise in nurse triage services in the U.S. can be explained by a number of reasons including the convenience factor of speaking to a registered nurse over the phone, the quickening pace of our society generally, the limited supply of primary care providers in many geographic areas, concerns over the H1N1 virus, and the offering of nurse triage services as a health plan benefit – among other explanations.
Alicare Medical Management also offers health information services as part of its umbrella of care management programs, which provides both telephonic and Internet access to a full array of health and wellness topics through either clinically peer-reviewed online recorded messages or web content. The Health Information Library includes over 1,000 pre-recorded health-related messages, which are available in English or Spanish.
With all of the hassles of modern life, it is good to know that you can make a call or log on to the Internet and receive helpful medical advice and information in a timely manner from any location.
Earthquake Relief in Haiti
AMM and Amalgamated Life employees have been generously donating for Haitian relief. The companies are matching all employee donated funds. Donations are going to Doctors Without Borders.
