Li Ling, Lake Rebecca, Raban Magdalena Z, Byrne Mary, Robinson Maureen, Westbrook Johanna, Baysari Melissa T
Centre for Health Systems and Safety Research, Australian Institute of Health Innovation, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, Level 6, 75 Talavera Road, Macquarie University, Sydney, NSW, 2109, Australia.
Healthdirect Australia, Sydney, NSW, Australia.
BMC Health Serv Res. 2017 Mar 14;17(1):197. doi: 10.1186/s12913-017-2135-1.
Telenursing triage and advice services are increasingly being used to deliver health advice. Medication-related queries are common, however little research has explored the medication-related calls made to these services. The aim of this study was to examine the profile of medication-related calls to a national telenursing triage and advice service and the medications involved.
This was a retrospective cohort study of medication-related calls received by Australia's national helpline (healthdirect helpline) in 2014, which provides free advice from registered nurses. We examined the volume of medication-related calls over time, user profiles for patients and callers, and call characteristics and we also investigated medications involved in the calls by their generic names and therapeutic classes.
Of 675,774 calls, 3.8% (n = 25,744) were medication-related, which was the largest category of calls. The average call length was 10 min. Over half of callers (55.4%) were advised to deliver self-care. Of 7,459 calls where the callers reported they did not know what to do prior to calling, 56.8% were advised to self-care and 3.5% were transferred to the Poisons Information Centre immediately. Of 1,277 calls where callers reported that they had originally intended to call an ambulance or attend an emergency department (ED), none were advised to do so. Advice most frequently requested was about analgesics and antipyretics, followed by non-steroidal anti-inflammatory agents.
The telenursing triage and advice helpline offered quick and easily accessible advice, and provided reassurance to patients and callers with medication-related queries. The service also potentially diverted some patients from attending an ED unnecessarily.
远程护理分诊与咨询服务越来越多地被用于提供健康建议。与药物相关的咨询很常见，然而，很少有研究探讨拨打这些服务热线的与药物相关的电话。本研究的目的是调查拨打全国远程护理分诊与咨询服务热线的与药物相关电话的概况以及所涉及的药物。
这是一项对2014年澳大利亚国家帮助热线（healthdirect帮助热线）接到的与药物相关电话的回顾性队列研究，该热线由注册护士提供免费建议。我们研究了一段时间内与药物相关电话的数量、患者和来电者的用户概况以及电话特征，还按通用名和治疗类别调查了电话中涉及的药物。
在675774个电话中，3.8%（n = 25744）与药物相关，这是最大的电话类别。平均通话时长为10分钟。超过一半的来电者（55.4%）被告知进行自我护理。在7459个来电者表示在打电话前不知道该怎么做的电话中，56.8%被告知进行自我护理，3.5%被立即转接到毒物信息中心。在1277个来电者表示他们原本打算呼叫救护车或前往急诊科（ED）的电话中，没有人被建议这样做。最常被咨询的建议是关于镇痛药和解热药，其次是非甾体抗炎药。
远程护理分诊与咨询帮助热线提供了快速且易于获取的建议，并为有药物相关问题的患者和来电者提供了安心保障。该服务还可能使一些患者避免不必要地前往急诊科。
