RT Journal
A1 Melzer SM
T1 After-hours telephone triage: Reducing the financial burden—reply
JF Archives of Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine
JO Archives of Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine
YR 2004
FD February 1
VO 158
IS 2
SP 185
OP 186
DO 10.1001/archpedi.158.2.186-b
UL http://dx.doi.org/10.1001/archpedi.158.2.186-b
AB 
In contrast with the experience described by Drs Foels and Terranova, in which a health plan provides nurse call center telephone triage for members at no cost to the physicians, most pediatric practices that use nurse call centers for after-hours telephone care pay a fee for these services. Although children's hospitals that sponsor call centers frequently underwrite a portion of the costs,1 the financial burden, with charges ranging from $5 to $15 per call, can be substantial.