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Camille: Welcome to "Health Break" by UPMC Health Plan, your quick guide to health, wellness, and how to make the most of your health insurance plan. I’m your host, Dr. Camille Clarke-Smith. This is your…"Health Break."
In this episode, Betsy Holden takes a "Health Break" to talk about getting 24/7 guidance from a registered nurse. She’ll discuss how the UPMC MyHealth 24/7 Nurse Line is there for you and your family when you need nonemergency care. 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Betsy, thank you for taking a "Health Break" with us today.
Betsy: Thank you so much for having me.
Camille: So let’s get started. Can you tell us, what is the UPMC MyHealth 24/7 Nurse Line?
Betsy: This is a no-cost service for our UPMC Health Plan members available 24 hours a day, seven days a week, and it provides advice from our UPMC nurses for all of our members of all ages. If it’s after hours for you or your child’s provider or you’re not sure what kind of care you need, the 24/7 nurse line is here to help. They also can help you determine whether to treat a nonemergency condition at home with self-care, visit your primary care provider, have a virtual provider visit, or seek a higher level of care like in an emergency room or urgent care center. All of our members across all of our service area are eligible to call our nurse line.
Camille: Thank you so much for that overview. Can you share, what is the process to reach the nurses?
Betsy: Sure. So there are two ways you can reach the nurses. The first is using your telephone or the UPMC Health Plan app. The 24/7 nurse line can be reached directly by calling 1-866-918-1591. TTY users should call 711. This can be accessed via the UPMC Health Plan app via a button that can help you to direct the call right over to the nurses.
If you don’t need help right away, you can also chat with a nurse through our secure member site. You can type the questions in our confidential secure site to receive support directly from the nurses within 24 hours. But again, it’s not help right away. So the nurses will get back to you within 24 hours.
Camille: Now that we know how to reach the nurses, can you tell us, what happens when someone calls a nurse and how do the nurses know what to ask?
Betsy: Absolutely. You can call with a general health question or a specific medical issue. After answering a few questions with our concierge, you will then be transferred over to speak directly with our UPMC nurse via our warm handoff. The nurse will then ask you questions based on the conversation that you have with them. They are able to identify how best to direct your care based on the software that they’re using and their own knowledge and expertise, whether it’s something to monitor via watchful waiting, something that needs direct care from your PCP, or something that requires a virtual visit or more urgent care or emergent care. That expertise and training of our nurses really is a unique service that I’m super proud to offer as part of our UPMC Health Plan.
Camille: Wow, sounds like a great service. So can you tell us a little bit more about the other top benefits of using this service?
Betsy: It is more than just convenience. It is really about understanding what’s the best next step for you and your family. Is it watchful waiting, which brings a cost savings if you’re thinking that you need to head to somewhere, whether it’s an emergency department or some other service. It is objective, trained triage nurses who really can listen and give the best recommendation. It is support. It is reassurance.
Just on an aside, my own experience using the nurse line, I called it—I’ve called it many times—but I’ve called it where I had a sick infant and my child was having difficulty breathing, had a high fever, and I was really worried. The neat thing about the nurses is that they not only asked the questions over the telephone, but they’re able to hear, they were able to hear my son’s breathing. They were able to hear whether or not he was struggling just based on their fine-tuning of their ability to hear and ask the questions. So that support and reassurance allowed me as a parent to take a deep breath and to know that they were available for me right then and there. But also, they made it very clear that once I hung up, if I needed to call back, they were there. Whether it was 10 minutes, two hours, or two days from then, I knew that I had a voice on the other end of the line that could help me, could guide me to where I needed to be and was always there.
Camille: Thank you, Betsy, for taking a "Health Break" with us today and sharing more about the UPMC MyHealth 24/7 Nurse Line, the benefits, but also your own experience.
Betsy: Thank you so much for having me.
Camille: Call a registered nurse today at 1-866-918-1591. TTY users should call 711. Be sure to have your member ID card handy. The UPMC MyHealth 24/7 Nurse Line is not a substitute for medical care. If you have an emergency, go to the nearest emergency room, call 911, or call your local ambulance service. If you have plan-related questions, please call a Health Care Concierge at the number on your member ID card. TTY users should call 711.
Find show notes and more information at upmchealthplan.com/podcast. Join us as we continue exploring health, wellness, and how to make the most of your health insurance plan in the next episode of "Health Break."
This podcast is for informational and educational purposes. It is not medical care or advice. Individuals in need of medical care should consult their care provider.
Views and opinions expressed by the hosts and guests are solely their own and do not necessarily reflect those of UPMC Health Plan and its employees.
*UPMC nurses who answer calls are licensed to assist members in Pennsylvania, West Virginia, Maryland, New York, and Ohio. Members must be in one of those states when calling the UPMC MyHealth 24/7 Nurse Line. The UPMC MyHealth 24/7 Nurse Line is not a substitute for medical care. If an emergency arises, please call 911 or your local ambulance service, go to the nearest emergency room, or call or text the Suicide and Crisis Lifeline at 988. Nurses cannot answer plan or benefit questions. For plan or benefit information, please contact Member Services at the phone number on your ID card or call 1-844-220-4785 (TTY: 711) Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m.
