New Beeper System Implemented to Facilitate Patient Flow
A new text paging system is attempting to make a difference in smoothing patient
flow with timely communication between nurses in the Emergency Room, PACU, Cardiac
Catheterization Laboratory and patient care floors.
In the pilot project, designed to enhance the Patient Report Policy, a text
page goes to the charge nurse approximately 20 minutes before the patient’s
report will be ready. The expectation is that the nurse-in-charge (NIC) will expedite
the assignment to the appropriate nurse or seek an alternative if that nurse is
not available. “This advanced communication with the NIC should help patients
and nurses alike,” said Barbara Bauman, RN, director of Surgical Nursing.
“Nurses should find less interruptions in patient care and have a better
timeframe for bed availability,” she said.
Since implementation, Bauman said that there has been a 60 percent success
rate with patient reports given on the first call from the Emergency Room. However,
the expectation is to achieve as close to 100 percent compliance. The program
began this past June in the PACU, with the Emergency Room and Cardiac Catheterization
Laboratory adopting it in August. The Patient Report Policy requires staff nurses
to take report from the area sending the patient on the first call. The policy
was drafted under the direction of Nancy Hickey, RN, director of Personnel and
Resource Applications and Steve Palmer, NIC, Emergency Department, to address
the issue of delays in patient transfers. There was also active participation
from NICs and nurse managers across the inpatient areas.