Many people today don’t have time to make doctor’s appointments for themselves or their children. In addition, very few doctors make house calls any more, and it seems like it can take weeks or even months to get a real appointment. In situations where someone in your family is sick, you don’t always have the money or time to go to the emergency room, but you have questions, so what do you do? Fortunately, many hospitals, clinics, and health care centers have developed something called call center nursing. Basically, nurses work in a 24 hours a day, 7 days a week call center and are there to help answer patients’ questions. This call center nursing method is a great way to help people determine whether or not they need simple over the counter medication, or if more serious treatment is needed, without having to wait in long lines at the hospital or beg to get a doctor’s appointment.

The idea of call center nursing is fairly simple. The nurses ask people who call in some basic information such as the age, weight, and sex of the patient, as well as any medications they are already taking. Then, there are some symptom based questions that occur, such as how long has the symptom been happening, and how severe is it. In addition, basic health and medical questions can also be answered with call center nursing. Things like how to treat poison ivy or deciphering lab tests results can all be done over the phone with a qualified nurse. This is a convenient and safe way to get your medical questions answered without having to wait to see a doctor. The nurses can also help you assess whether or not a problem you or your patient has needs to seek immediate attention or if it simply needs a little bit of rest and attention at home for a few days.