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HealthLine an Option for Current Columbia St. Mary’s Patients

Kim Merriman, MD, Family Medicine, Shorewood Family Physicians

Posted: April 1, 2009

Oftentimes, when people need medical care outside of their clinic’s regular office hours, their options are to visit an urgent care center, go to the emergency room or leave a message with an answering service for the doctor on call.

Columbia St. Mary’s patients have an additional option - contacting our HealthLine after-hours service. HealthLine is staffed around the clock by registered nurses who can provide quick, accurate and convenient triage and health advice.

Knowledgeable healthcare advice via the phone
During a typical call, the caller speaks directly with a trained registered nurse and shares his or her health concerns. Based on that initial discussion, the nurse then makes an assessment with the aid of physician-approved protocols and determines whether the caller needs to speak directly with the doctor on call, or if the caller should go to an urgent care center, the emergency room or simply make a follow-up appointment with the doctor during regular hours. Each call is fully documented to make sure that all calls are handled properly.

A high standard of care
HealthLine was designed to ensure that patients receive the quality care and service they expect from Columbia St. Mary’s, even outside of clinic office hours. Patients get immediate feedback in order to make informed healthcare decisions for themselves and their family. The nursing staff can dispense advice and make a preliminary diagnosis.

About the only thing nurses with Columbia St. Mary’s HealthLine can’t do is directly prescribe medication to patients who call in. And although HealthLine nurses are not licensed to prescribe medication, they can recommend that course of action to the on-call doctor.

Since Columbia St. Mary’s implemented HealthLine, patients and medical practices alike have benefited.

So the next time you have a health concern after Columbia St. Mary’s regular office hours and you contact your Columbia St. Mary’s community clinic, you’ll be connected to HealthLine, which could save you a trip to the urgent care center or the emergency room.

Kim Merriman, MD
Family Medicine, Shorewood Family Physicians
Columbia St. Mary’s
414-326-1745

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