24-Hour Availability, On-Call Service and Crisis Response
Sets out the Agency’s system for nursing services 24 hours a day, seven days a week, with a registered nurse available at all times, on-site nursing within one hour of notification when a patient has a symptom-management crisis, a hospice physician and a pharmacist available at all times, how after-hours calls are answered and triaged, and the on-call log of every after-hours call kept for two years and reviewed by the quality program.
About this policy
- Policy number
- GA-HSP-SVC-01
- Version
- 1.0
- Main rule
- Ga. Comp. R. & Regs. 111-8-37-.18(1)
- Library
- Georgia hospice · 60 policies
- Category
- Service delivery
- Sections
- 18
In short
- A registered nurse is available 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Families call (404) 555-0199.
- Call the patient back within 15 minutes of the page.
- In a symptom-management crisis, a nurse must be at the bedside within one hour of the call.
- Log every after-hours call: times, reason, advice, visit and arrival time. Logs are kept at least two years.
- A hospice physician and a pharmacist are always reachable. Hand over follow-ups each morning.
What's inside
18 sections. The full text comes with the One-time Policy Pack.
- Terms of Reference
- 1. Purpose
- 2. Scope
- 3. Definitions
- 4. Policy Statement (Ga. Comp. R. & Regs. 111-8-37-.18(1))
- 5. The On-Call System
- 6. Telephone Triage and On-Site Response
- 7. Physician and Pharmacist Availability
- 8. The On-Call Log
- 9. Handover and Review
- 10. Teaching Patients and Families
- 11. Responsibilities
- 12. Records and Compliance Monitoring
- 13. Staff Training
- 14. References
- 15. Related Policies and Forms
- 16. Approval
- 17. Revision History
An inspector may ask
- Show me the on-call schedule for last month. Who was the RN available each night?
- Show me your on-call log for after-hours calls. How long do you keep it?
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