Medibank Health Solutions (formerly McKesson Asia-Pacific) operates telephone triage, health advice, counselling and referral services 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

Telephone triage is the practice of conducting a telephone interview to assess the urgency and severity of the patients symptoms.

The outcome of telephone triage is appropriate patient referral to the appropriate level of care within an appropriate period of time.

Efficient and effective

Studies have shown that telephone triage is an effective means of managing consumer demand, improving consumer access and facilitating appropriate attendance at hospital emergency departments.

During the telephone triage process, Medibank Health Solutions staff use sophisticated, computerised decision support protocols to make patient assessments. The triage nurse then advises the caller on the type of care needed.

Telephone triage is not a diagnostic service; rather it is designed to:

• Provide recommendations and help callers make informed healthcare decisions
• Provide self-care advice appropriate to the presenting symptoms and level of care required
• Safe, accessible all-hours care

Medibank Health Solutions works with several Australian state and territory health departments (Western Australia, Australian Capital Territory and Northern Territory) and the New Zealand Ministry of Health to provide health information and advice to the general public at all hours.

An independent evaluation of Healthline in New Zealand showed that:

• 97 per cent of surveyed callers were very satisfied or satisfied with their contact with Healthline
• 98 per cent of callers said they would use the service again

As 70 per cent of Healthline calls are received outside working hours, GPs are also realising the value of this safe, accessible service, which relieves the pressure of call-outs to patients who do not require urgent attention after hours.

More information

 Telephone triage, advice and referral service (PDF 1.49 Mb)

 Telephone triage and disease management software (PDF 614.72 Kb)

Medibank Health Solutions reports and case studies
Our publications on telephone triage, available for download

Industry reports and case studies
General publications on telephone triage, available for download