The department of surgery has just launched a 24-hour surgery referral and appointment line — 210-567-0001.
“Our new referral service should give patients and physicians rapid access to our superb surgical faculty,” said Stephen M. Cohn, M.D., professor and chair of the department of surgery.
The referral service operates 24 hours a day, seven days a week and provides physicians, medical staff and patient callers with a professional medical associate who can channel their request for information or appointments to the correct surgical specialty. Callers will speak with a registered nurse and are guaranteed a call back from the appropriate specialty clinic within 24 hours.
While this is not an emergency line, those answering this number are experienced, registered nurses who can effectively triage the calls. In the initial trial phase, physicians and patients found the line useful in locating the correct surgical specialty area or a specific surgeon.
“We found that both patients and physicians prefer this personal contact over leaving a message, especially concerning personal medical issues,” said Rhonda Falcon, R.N., B.S.N., one of the five medical professionals who answer the referral line. “Callers are glad to have a real person to talk to about a medical problem. However, we only gather the information we need to get them to the appropriate surgical division. We will get more detail about the situation including the primary care physician and insurance in the follow-up call, which is an especially important aspect of the system that really sets this service apart,” she said.
To provide another method of access, the surgery department also launched an online patient referral system at
www.surgery.uthscsa.edu/. Through the online system, physicians, medical staff and patients can request a phone call to discuss a referral. As with the telephone intake, they will receive a response from a specialty clinic within 24 hours.
“This innovative 24/7 referral line will result in easier access to the surgical services, more satisfied patients and physicians, an increase in clinical activity and an enhancement of the surgery department’s goal to better serve the medical and patient community,” Dr. Cohn said.
