ASO Training

ANSWERING SERVICE OPERATOR (ASO) TRAINING

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index

Steps of Handling A Call

Answering Service

What We Do

Protocols & How We Communicate

INCONTACT Dashboard

Smartsheets

More Info & Tips

Hospice: Medical care to help someone with a terminal illness live as comfortably as possible; increase quality of life. Home Health (Palliative care): Medical care focused on relieving symptoms due to an illness or due to surgery; care can involve several treatments.

We take calls after hours for hospice and home health organizations.

What We Do

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Answering Service

Answering service means that the client wants every single call sent to their on-call staff. Even if you get a call that is not patient related, please collect the caller's name, phone number, and what it is they are needing and give the information to the on-call person. If a caller asks you a question, please let them know that you will give the information to the on-call nurse and he/she will be calling them back to answer their questions. We recommend you do not try to answer their questions; it is your job to send the information to the nurse as soon as possible so that the nurse can help them. It is okay to let the caller know that you are with the after-hours answering service for that hospice/home health (sometimes the caller will assume that you are the nurse).

Steps of Handling A Call

CALL

DOCUMENT IN THE END-OF-SHIFT REPORT(EOS)

CALL OR TEXT ON-CALL NURSE

CHECK SMARTSHEETS

01

Answer the call

STEP

Answer the call using your Answering Script.

Ask questions to gather details.

Steps of handling a call / 01

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02

check smartsheets

STEP

Go to SmartSheets & find the on-call schedule for the client you took the call for.

Find & verify the on-call nurse

Steps of handling a call / 02

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03

Call Or text the on-call nurse

STEP

Check the "CONTACT VIA" section at the top of each smart sheet. This will tell you the client's preferred method of contact: Call or Text Contact the on-call nurse and give them the call info

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04

DOCUMENT IN THE END-OF-SHIFT REPORT(EOS)

STEP

The last step is documenting the call in the Diagnotes EOS so that the client has record of this call.

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Urgent Calls

Death calls are urgent. Whenever a death call is received, send to the NOC immediately. Remember to be compassionate & empathetic to the caller giving your condolences before advising them you will be sending their call to a hospice nurse ASAP.Be sure to get a time of death if possible.

Non-urgent/Supply Calls

Most medication refills & supply calls are non-urgent. Whenever these types of calls are received, be sure to collect as much information as you can so the NOC can efficiently assist the patient.Refer to Step 1 for basic questions during calls including:

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TYPES OF CALLS & HOW WE HANDLE THEM

• Pain
• Medication
• Falls
• Constipation
• Inability To Urinate

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INCONTACT DASHBOARD / CLOCKING IN & TAKING CALLS

Info

call log template / color-coding system

• We use an excel "Call Log" template to store the information from the calls we take. We keep the call log in our Outlook One Drive to keep patient information safe.

• Write the time you received the call in the client's time zone and military time. It's okay to shorten the client's name. For example: Covenant Hospice Tallahassee can be written down as "Cov Hosp Tall" or "Cov HH Tall" for the Home health side. Community Health Care of Texas can be written down as "CHOT Fort Worth" or "CHOT Dallas". - Just make sure it is something that anyone would be able to recognize.

In your note, we ask you to please write in complete sentences. It's not important to write down everything the caller says. However, it's crucial to write down what it is they're needing at that time. Using the color-coding system is important is the key for keeping track of where you are at with each call. We are usually handling more than one call at a time so you will need this to help you remember what step you are on with each call.

TIME ZONES

All client Smart Sheet schedules will be in the folder with their time zone. Your call log time should be in the client's time zone. Remember: The schedule for a client is always in the time zone for that client.

Smartsheets is a website that holds all of the information needed to handle a call. It is a collection of excel sheets: one sheet for each client. Basic information will be at the top, the schedule underneath. Please take some time to study and look at each of the clients’ schedules. Every schedule will look different because each client chooses how their schedule will look.

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smart sheets

T1 – EST T2 – CST T3 – MST T4 – PST

TIME ZONES

All client Smart Sheet schedules will be in the folder with their time zone. Your call log time should be in the client's time zone. Remember: The schedule for a client is always in the time zone for that client.

We use teams to communicate with each other and receive updates on client and Health Care Tele Services (Hospice On Call) protocols. We are a team and help each other by communicating throughout our shift. We do not have direct lines so if you have called a nurse and left a voicemail asking for a call back, you will put into the group chat, "Call out to (Nurse Name) with (Client Name)". If the nurse calls back and it goes to another agent, they know to transfer the nurse to you.

When accepting a transfer from another agent, be sure to go available to receive the call.

microsoft teams

T1 – EST T2 – CST T3 – MST T4 – PST

DIAGNOTES

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TEXT APP

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HOW TO START A NEW MESSAGE

SEARCHING FOR ACTIVE DISCUSSIONS

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STEPS FOR DOCUMENTING IN THE EOS

PROTOCOLS FOR TEXTING THE ON-CALL NURSE

1. Look on Smart Sheet to check who is on call for that client/organization.
2. In Diagnotes, under Rooms and Messages, click CTRL and F and a search bar will appear on the right of the screen toward the top.
3. Type in the nurse’s name you are trying to contact. If he/she has a discussion started their name will be highlighted.

If not, you will need to start a new discussion by clicking the plus sign on the left side of the page, select Start a new message, then look up the nurse.Make sure the name appears next to the hospice/home health name you took the call for. 4. Click on Start Message.

1. Copy and paste your call from your call log, Click Send.
2. After you send the message, wait 5 minutes.
3. If no response, send another text asking if he/she received the message, put your name so they know you are sending it.
4. If no response in another 5 minutes, go to Smart sheet to find the nurse's number.
5. Call the nurse. If no answer, leave a voice message (do not leave patient information on the voicemail).
6. If no call back in 5 minutes, call the Backup nurse.
7. If no backup nurse, call the AOC.

PROTOCOLS FOR CALLING THE ON-CALL NURSE

1. Communicate with the Primary Contact via Phone Call.2. If the Primary Contact does not answer, leave a voice message and ask them to call you back. Instruct the Primary Contact to call you back by calling her office main line number. Wait 10 minutes.3. If you do not get a call-back within 10 minutes, call a second time. Wait 5 minutes.

4. If the on-call contact does not call you back within 5 minutes call the backup. No voice messages. No wait.5. If the backup does not answer call the AOC. If there is not an AOC call the Primary Contact again.

Voicemail: This is ___ with Health Care Tele Services. We received a call regarding one of your patients. Please call me back when you get a chance. You can call your office main line number or you can reach me at 773-289-1101. Please ask for ___.

Some clients have inpatient units where patients receive their hospice services. We are allowed to transfer the caller to the IPU or give them the phone number to call. You do not have to take these calls down in your call log.

Referrals are calls regarding new patients. Certain clients have specific procedures/protocols on how to handle a referral. Always refer to SS to see what those procedures are.

IPU(IN-PATIENT UNIT CALLS

Additional information & quick tips

REFERRALS

"Special clients."

• We cannot promise a call back time for the on-call nurse.

You can tell the caller, “The nurse will be calling you back shortly.” OR "As soon as we are finished, I will be sending the information to the nurse so that he/she can call you back.”

• We are not allowed to give out the nurses’ phone numbers

EXCEPT when we get a call from an actual nurse or employee who knows who is on call and she wants the nurse’s phone number. You can also offer to transfer the employee to the on-call nurse.

• We do not leave patient information on voice mails, that includes patient names or phone numbers.

• We never tell any caller that the nurse is “busy” or that we (the after-hours answering service) are “busy”.

INFORMATION WE never GIVE TO CALLERS

"We're done already? I was just getting into the groove of things..."- Dave

COMPLETION

PINK/RED: (Original color that comes with the call log) You sent the call to the on-call nurse via text or call, but have the call has not been "accepted" yet. YELLOW: The nurse has "accepted" the call information. All that is left to do is document. GREEN: The call has been documented in the End of Shift report (EOS) To make things easier, I personally use the traffic stop method to memorize the colors. RED: STOP! This is an urgent call that needs to be given to a nurse.YELLOW: Slow down now, the call has been received by a nurse. GREEN: The call has been documented. We're good to go!

Check "Contact Via" in the top section of the Smart Sheet. This will let you know what the client's preferred method of contact is: Text or Call. Administrator On-Call (AOC) schedule is listed right above the nurse's schedule (Covenant is an exception) Nurse on-call (NOC): The nurse is usually the first person to contact. SS also holds: Call Log Archive and password sheets.

On the home page, under the messages tab, press CTRL + F to bring up a search bar. Type the organization or nurse's name. If he/she has a discussion already started, their name will be highlighted. If not, you will need to start a new discussion.

On the left side of the page, click the + Select Start New Message Search for the nurse(s) you need to contact. START MESSAGE COPY and PASTE your note, then SEND.

Answering service operators (ASO) will take the calls and pass the message to the on-call staff for that client. Triage assistants can also take these calls. A triage assistant (TA) or nurse will take down the caller’s info and handle the call according to the nature of their request, which can be clinical or non-clinical. Triage assistants will handle the non-clinical calls and clinical calls will be sent to the HCTS nurse.

KEY WORDS:CLIENT: The Hospice/Home Health Organization BRANCH: The Location(If the client has multiple) PROGRAM: Hospice, Home Health, and Palliative Care

(911 calls are urgent. If a caller says they will call 911/EMS, reassure them that you'll be contacting a hospice nurse for assistance asap. These calls are considered urgent because if a hospice patient is admitted to the hospital, their hospice services will be terminated.

(Suicide calls are urgent . If a patient says they are going to self-harm, reassure them that you are contacting a nurse to assist them asap. Keep them on the line for as long as you can while you transfer them to one of our nurses. After transferring, be sure to send the call to the NOC.

1. Select Alert
2. Go to Manage Alerts
3. Select New Alert
4. Now you can Paste your call in the text box
5. Select the second option under alerts options: "Display as a popup on the web"
6. Go to the Subgroups to pick the name of the organization. Then Create Alert

Covenant HH & Hospice Each Covenant branch has its own SS schedule. Ace Hospice We only take calls for Ace Hospice patients. However, on their Smart Sheet it says if we receive a call from a HH patient, please have them call (925)258-9101. The caller will usually indicate that they are with Home Health when this happens (We do not receive these calls often). LightBridge We contact their AOC LifeSong Hospice LifeSong Hospice has 2 locations: Allentown and Harrisburg Please ask for what facility the patient resides at to determine which location you need to contact. On their SS there are 2 lists. One is for the facilities under Allentown and one is for the facilities under Harrisburg.

Nothing but a cool dance here. Check back later.

- Dave The Minion

• Incontact is the Dashboard we use to clock in/out.
• We also use it to call nurses through MAX Agent, an online phone system.
• Using this Dashboard, we can see all calls coming in on a "contact list" and all of the agents working with us at the current time.
• We can also listen to our calls, almost immediately after taking them.

• When you're available, client calls can come to you. Other agents can call you as well.
• When unavailable, only HCTS agents will be able to contact you.

It is important to start logging on 5-10 minutes early. This way you have time to pull up the pages needed for your shift and "go available" by the time your shift is scheduled to start.

TEXTING A NURSE

CALLING A NURSE

• When contacting a nurse via diagnotes, wait 5 minutes for a response. if you haven't received a response or emote from a nurse, you can text again ensuring they have received the call. You can repeat this process until you receive a response or reach an AOC.

• When contacting a nurse via phone, wait 10 minutes for a callback then call again.
• If the nurse still hasn't called back after 5 minutes, call the backup nurse if there's one on schedule.
• If the backup nurse doesn't answer, call the AOC, then call the primary nurse again if needed.

• Falls: Was the patient injured? Is the patient complaining of pain or discomfort? Is the patient still on the floor?

It's important to gather key information to relay to the nurses. Key questions are below:

Ask Questions! Be Specific!

• Constipation: How many days since the patient's last bowel movement? Have they taken any medication to help?

• Pain: What's the patient's current pain level? Has the patient taken any medication to help with the pain?

• Medication: Collect names of medications if the patient needs a refill. How many doses does the patient have left? When do you need the medication by?

If the caller does not wish to give any further information, always add that to your note.

• Unable to urinate: How long has it been since the patient urinated? Is the patient feeling any pain?

• If a caller states he/she will call 911, re-assure them that you will be contacting the nurse to get them the help they need.
• Death calls are urgent. Send to RN on call ASAP.Be compassionate and offer your condolences to the caller. If the caller is not sure if the patient has passed, ask the caller, "Is the patient still breathing?“
• Get the time of death if they have it.

"Thank you for calling (Hospice/Home Health name.) My name is ___________, I am a triage assistant. May I have the name of the patient that you're calling about?" "Can I have the spelling of the patient's name, please?" (Repeat spelling back) "May I have the patient's date of birth?" "May I have your name & your relationship to the patient, please?" "May I please have your callback number?" (Repeat the phone number) "Thank you. How may I help you?"

Callers often request new equipment & repairs. Common equipment requests include: Hospital beds, commodes, bedside tables, walkers, shower chairs, oxygen concentrators, oxygen tanks, hoyer lifts, etc.Please ask the caller what they need if they are requesting new equipment and when they'll be needing the equipment. If the caller is requesting supplies, please ask exactly what they need, how much, and when they need it (ask for size if applicable). Common supply requests include: Adult diapers, adult briefs, wipes, mouth swabs, gloves, chux (incontinence pads) etc. A great follow-up question you can ask to check on the patient is: “Is the patient having any complications today?” It's always good to ask about how the patient is doing in case a nurse evaluation is needed.

DME(DURABLE MEDICAL EQUIPMENT) SUPPLIES

Diagnotes is the app we use to contact the Nurse on-call (NOC) via text. It also holds the End of Shift report (EOS)