The telephone plays a crucial role in modern healthcare, and timely and accurate triage is more important than ever as cost and access concerns drive consumers to seek guidance on the urgency of medical issues. Nurses, using systematic telephone triage protocols, can confidently and consistently address these inquiries, helping to optimize care and reduce unnecessary expenses. 

This seventh edition of Telephone Triage Protocols for Nurses reflects recent advancements, updating existing protocols and introducing new ones to meet the demands of today’s healthcare landscape. It contains more than 200 protocols that cover a wide range of common symptoms, disorders, and medical emergencies. Health problems unique to adults, children, pregnant people, those who are chronically ill, and older adults are included. This entire text has been thoroughly revised by the authors and reviewed by experts. Among the many changes:

• Protocols have been thoroughly updated to reflect current practice and changes in access to medications and health care.
• Protocols address adult, pediatric, geriatric, and maternal/child and home health concerns. 
• Postoperative conditions and considerations have been added to numerous protocols. 
• Expanded home care instructions provide more useful and timely information, list drug warnings whenever over-the-counter medications are suggested, and offer many home and alternative remedies.
• Communicable diseases in the Appendix have been reformatted and updated to enhance cross-referencing.
• New protocols have been added to address ­current health issues and communicable disease outbreaks, including the following:
  • Avian Influenza (“Bird Flu”) Exposure
  • Cancer Problems
  • COVID-19 (SARS-CoV-2)
  • Long COVID (Post-COVID Conditions, Long-Haul COVID)
  • Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA)
  • Respiratory Syncytial Virus (RSV)