An Introduction to Telephone Triage

Course Overview

During this course we’ll be looking at:

• what triage is, and how telephone triage is used throughout the health and medical network in Australia,
• different types of potential callers, and
• the communication skills necessary to perform telephone triage and essential telephone triage skills.

Estimated Duration

1 hour

About the author

The module has been developed in partnership with Healthdirect Australia services.

Healthdirect Australia offers a number of telephone and digital services to enable consumers access the right health advice and the most appropriate health services for their needs, when and where they need it.

Established by the Council of Australian Governments the telephone triage services available through Healthdirect Australia are:

• healthdirect,
• after hours GP helpline, and
• Pregnancy, Birth and Baby

These services are available as an extra support for patients of general practice.

Learning Outcome

The module will provide you with an understanding of:

• what telephone triage is, and the specialist communication techniques involved,
• how to control a practice telephone call and demonstrate critical thinking in determining the appropriate context and timing of care for your patient,
• the various tools available to Australian general practice staff that assist in clinical decision making and how to access them,
• the interdependent relationship between practice staff prioritisation processes and practice nurse telephone triage, and
• managing difficult and challenging telephone triage interactions safely and effectively.

Target Audience

Suitable for nurses working in primary health care including general practice.

What you’ll get

At the completion of the course, you will be presented with a brief online assessment that will test your underpinning knowledge.

To fully complete the ‘Telephone Triage’ module and claim your full CPD hours, we recommend you also complete the corresponding survey. It only takes a few minutes to complete.

Once you have completed all sections of the course, a certificate will be available next to the course name in the ‘My Training’ section of APNA Online Learning.