Triage categories to help assist in making the determination when the appointment should be made:
1. Emergency- must be evaluated immediately.
2. Urgent – must be seen within 12 to 24 hours.
3. Routine- to be seen at next available appointment time.
Questions to ask = See "Appointment Triaging Question" form, under the Forms tab. Use this form when scheduling medical appointments.
Do not offer the patient a diagnosis or give an opinion on a condition over the phone. If you are not sure, you must relay to the doctor the details of the phone conversation.
The following is a list of conditions considered EMERGENCIES (patients need to be seen immediately). This is a guide for those patients that need to be seen immediately, and will help to determine if they can be seen in our office or if they should go directly to the ER.
1. Chemicals or other toxins splashed into the eye within the last hour. The patient should be instructed to irrigate immediately and profusely with clean water if saline is not available, for 15 minutes before coming to office. They should not put anything including drops or contact lenses in their eye.
2. Sudden loss of vision or the appearance of a cloudy veil in front of the eye. Directly to ER.
3. Penetrating ocular injury. Directly to ER.
4. Forceful trauma to the eye.
5. Sudden onset of halos around lights, especially if associated with a red, painful eye or brow with halos around lights, patient typically naseous. This could be an acute angle closure attack. Directly to ER.
6. Sudden onset of persistent, severe pain in or around the eye, with swelling of lids. Directly to ER
7. Foreign body in the eye, or the suspicion of such. Advise patient not to remove themselves.
8. Sudden onset of flashing lights and/or floaters. This could be a vitreous detachment, a retinal detachment, or a symptom of migraine.
9. Sudden onset of diplopia (double vision, not blur).
10. Sudden onset of drooping eyelid. Directly to ER.
11. Sudden onset of persistent red eye, with or without pain, visual disturbance, or crusting.