The presence of COVID-19 in the emergency department posed a significant health and safety risk to nurses on duty who were immunosuppressed and pregnant. With this issue added to the nurse shortage, the CHU de Québec-Université Laval (CHUL) had to find a solution quickly to retain invaluable nursing staff without requiring their physical presence in the emergency room.

CHUL’s ER therefore introduced remote pre-triage last spring, an innovative solution that allows nurses to perform pre-triage remotely. This bold change in practice was a quick, effective response to the necessity of retaining ER staff while providing continuous access to care and services for the public. At-risk nurses work from an office near the ER and log in to the Teams platform, which is designed to be easily used by everyone. From this safe distance, nurses conduct an initial assessment by interacting with the patient onscreen and then assign a triage code.

The project’s impact has been remarkable: remote pre-triage has been so effective that nurses assigned to it are now also able to help re-assess patients in the waiting room. In addition, patients no longer need to wait to see a nurse when they arrive at the ER, the time between pre-triage and triage is much shorter, and the project not only benefits patients, but also significantly reduces overtime for CHUL emergency teams.

Project submitted by Claudia Hébert-Beaudoin, Clinical Nurse Instructor

Other contributors: Mylène Ferrand, Critical Care Coordinator – Emergency, Julie Marois, CHUL Emergency Room Chief, Marie-Audrey Roy, Emergency Room APN, Tommy Bélisle, Telehealth Clinic Lead, and Sonny Côté, IT Technician