Open Forum

I work at a University Student Health Center in California. Our students live and work all over the country and call our Advice Line (staffed by RNs). We have an internal centralized Advice line in California during business hours and an After Hours outsourced company outside of business hours. There have been restrictions to providing care outside of the state ie Telehealth Appointments, prescribing, lab orders etc.  How do the large Telephone Triage companies provide advice all over the country? Would appreciate anyone's input or resources. Thank you!

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Gina Pearson RN, BSN, PHN
Primary Care Nurse Manager
UC Berkeley UHS Tang Center
Oakland CA
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Hi Gina,

It depends on whether a state is a compact state (a group of states in the US that have agreed to recognize each other's nursing licenses, allowing nurses to practice in multiple states without needing to obtain a separate license for each one). This is facilitated through the Nurse Licensure Compact (NLC), which streamlines the licensing process and promotes mobility for nurses. There are 39 compact states, so organizations that provide triage across the country must be within the compact and offering services to other compact states. Oregon, where I work, is not in the compact. This is where things get tricky. For boarder cities like Portland, which is very close to Washington, we require certain nurses on our team to get dual license in Washington and Oregon. Patients calling us from other states are not able to receive telephonic or virtual nursing care from an Oregon nurse if they don't hold a license in the state where the patient is calling from. I hope that's helpful. 

Anthony Mulholland, MN, RN, NE – BC

VP/CNO, Ambulatory Services

Oregon Health and Science University

I work at a University Student Health Center in California. Our students live and work all over the country and call our Advice Line (staffed by RNs). We have an internal centralized Advice line in California during business hours and an After Hours outsourced company outside of business hours. There have been restrictions to providing care outside of the state ie Telehealth Appointments, prescribing, lab orders etc.  How do the large Telephone Triage companies provide advice all over the country? Would appreciate anyone's input or resources. Thank you!

------------------------------
Gina Pearson RN, BSN, PHN
Primary Care Nurse Manager
UC Berkeley UHS Tang Center
Oakland CA
------------------------------

Hi Gina,

It depends on whether a state is a compact state (a group of states in the US that have agreed to recognize each other's nursing licenses, allowing nurses to practice in multiple states without needing to obtain a separate license for each one). This is facilitated through the Nurse Licensure Compact (NLC), which streamlines the licensing process and promotes mobility for nurses. There are 39 compact states, so organizations that provide triage across the country must be within the compact and offering services to other compact states. Oregon, where I work, is not in the compact. This is where things get tricky. For boarder cities like Portland, which is very close to Washington, we require certain nurses on our team to get dual license in Washington and Oregon. Patients calling us from other states are not able to receive telephonic or virtual nursing care from an Oregon nurse if they don't hold a license in the state where the patient is calling from. I hope that's helpful. 

Anthony Mulholland, MN, RN, NE – BC

VP/CNO, Ambulatory Services

Oregon Health and Science University

I work at a University Student Health Center in California. Our students live and work all over the country and call our Advice Line (staffed by RNs). We have an internal centralized Advice line in California during business hours and an After Hours outsourced company outside of business hours. There have been restrictions to providing care outside of the state ie Telehealth Appointments, prescribing, lab orders etc.  How do the large Telephone Triage companies provide advice all over the country? Would appreciate anyone's input or resources. Thank you!

------------------------------
Gina Pearson RN, BSN, PHN
Primary Care Nurse Manager
UC Berkeley UHS Tang Center
Oakland CA
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