Valley Pediatric Triage
Ten years ago, Phoenix Children's Hospital launched Valley Pediatric Triage (VPT) to help physicians provide excellent care for their patients even when the office is closed. Since then, VPT has been providing professional, affordable after-hours coverage to Arizona pediatricians. Today, VPT serves 42 pediatric practices with approximately 240 pediatricians in Arizona, providing triage service to more than 85,000 patients in 2004.
"I'm quite thankful for Valley Pediatric Triage. I'll probably be able to practice pediatrics a lot longer because I'm not up all night answering calls anymore," says Dr. Richard Leonard of Pediatric Associates.
Responsive to Subscriber Calls
The foundation of VPT is to provide quick, reliable service for patients and their doctors.
When a parent calls their pediatrician's office after-hours, they are forwarded to the pediatrician's answering service. The answering service takes the information from the parent and pages it out to a VPT nurse. The VPT nurses then triages calls according to urgency by calling the parent, assessing the child, and giving advice according to VPT protocols.
VPT is available for all types of calls, even emergency calls. "Our nursing staff has intervened in many serious situations, from assessing whether parents can safely transport their child to the emergency room to calling throughout the night to gauge how the child is responding to treatment," says Catherine Fogerlie, RN, program manager of Valley Pediatric Triage.
VPT makes emergency room pediatricians available for consult 24 hours a day. Documentation regarding each encounter is available to subscribers on the following business day. And their positive management team is available around the clock to promptly address any concerns.
"We don't know what we'd do without Valley Pediatric Triage," says Dr. Lindsay Campbell of Camelback Pediatrics.
Quality Care Guaranteed
But fast, responsive care isn't enough – they also demand that this service is of the highest quality.
"What sold us about this program was the quality control involved, and that the nurses are cheerful and competent," Leonard says.
Each member of the staff is a pediatric-experienced registered nurse and documented HIPAA tested and compliant. They receive ongoing, quality pediatric education through Phoenix Children's. And they stay abreast of national standards for triage nursing. VPT nurses are even available to educate in-office triage nurses in regards to current practice.
To make sure that VPT continues to meet the highest quality of care standards, the program has a medical director in Michelle Huddleston, MD, a medical review board, and both internal and external quality control processes constantly evaluating its level of service.
Flexible Services to Fit Subscriber Needs
Every physician is different, and each one has different after-hours needs. That's why Valley Pediatric Triage works with physicians to provide the most flexible service possible.
"We call whenever we need to, and they've gotten us out of a few staffing jams," Campbell says.
VPT's flexible services allows physicians to select the specific times they prefer coverage and to indicate other preferences as well. VPT nurses answer every call -- even blocked line, Spanish language, and long-distance calls. And they can accommodate high call volume while maintaining the specific details of each practice's preferences and orders.
"Each physician subscribing to VPT may request that his or her own standing orders and preferences be followed. This allows the physician the comfort of knowing that his/her patients are receiving care and advice that is in agreement with the practice," Fogerlie says.
After hours, VPT successfully provides its service both on a full-time and as needed basis. During business hours, the nursing staff is also available to provide complete, professional triage services when subscribers are in a pinch. This program eliminates staffing concerns, sick calls, extended absences, and benefit packages, and has been extremely cost effective to providers.
"We've been clients of Valley Pediatric Triage since the beginning, and we have complete faith in them," Leonard says.
Contact Valley Pediatric Triage
For more information on how VPT can help you save office time, money, and staffing stress, please call the VPT Program Manager at (602) 546-3359.
