IP61-26 IMPLEMENTATION OF AN AFTER-HOURS NURSE TRIAGE PHONE LINE LED TO A REDUCED BURDEN OF PATIENT CALLS FOR ON-CALL UROLOGY RESIDENT

Megan Devine; Alexandria M. Hertz; Maia VanDyke; Steven Hudak

doi:10.1097/01.JU.0001191652.60325.91.26

INTRODUCTION AND OBJECTIVES: The burden of after-hours (AH) patient care is a significant contributor to physician burnout. Our institution recently instituted an AH nurse triage line to address the large number of AH patient phone calls, previously managed solely by the on-call urology resident. We sought to evaluate the impact of this triage line on patient care and resident wellness. METHODS: The AH nurse triage line was implemented for our health system in September 2023. Data from all calls were recorded and accessible via an online dashboard, including chief complaint, need to contact on-call resident, and patient disposition. Additionally, all PGY2-4 urology residents were surveyed regarding burnout and professional fulfillment scores at baseline and again 6 months after AH triage line implementation. RESULTS: During the 12-month period reviewed, the triage line received 1180 urology-specific AH calls from 906 patients, accounting for 14% of total AH encounters among all specialties. Most calls were for urinary symptoms (29.1%), catheter concerns (13.5%), medication/supply questions (13.3%), and pain (10.7%). Only 19% of AH calls were routed to the on-call urology resident. Of those calls managed by AH alone, half of all calls (49.8%) were dispositioned over the phone by the AH nurse with no in-person evaluation required, while 35.9% were recommended for urgent in-person evaluation (emergency room or urgent care), and 14.2% were referred for close outpatient follow up with their primary urologist (Figure 1). Burnout scores amongst residents decreased during the first 6 months of AH triage line use from a mean score of 3.61 to a score of 2.55 (score ≥3.325 = high burnout, p=0.14). Professional fulfillment scores increased from a mean of 6.64 to 7.5 (score >7.5 = high professional fulfillment, p=0.22). CONCLUSIONS: The AH nurse triage phone service recently deployed at our institution was frequently utilized by urology patients. Most AH urology complaints were managed by the triage nurse over the phone, thus decreasing the need for urgent AH care and urology resident involvement. Nurse triage lines should thus be considered by hospital systems as a mechanism to improve AH patient care while decreasing resident workload and burnout.

IP61-26 IMPLEMENTATION OF AN AFTER-HOURS NURSE TRIAGE PHONE LINE LED TO A REDUCED BURDEN OF PATIENT CALLS FOR ON-CALL UROLOGY RESIDENT

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