Hershey (Pa.) Outpatient Surgery Center Administrator Rita Mack, RN, BSN, shared a tip on how implementing a patient tracking system improved her center's communication.
Note: This has been edited for style and clarity.
Question: What's something you've implemented at your center that has seen great results that other ASCs could benefit from?
Rita Mack: Our patient tracking board has been an important communication tool in the center for both patients and staff. Its impact includes :
Allowing staff throughout the center to know when a patient has arrived and where they are in the admission process. This has decreased calls to various areas of the center, freeing up staff to continue to focus on patient care rather than interrupting time with a patient.
Allowing families and friends to track the patient throughout the process which supplements staff rounding.
Allowing note flags to be placed on individual patients for safety and comfort reasons; for example, use topical numbing before IV.
I am not endorsing any particular company’s tracking system as it needs to be the one that fulfills the center’s needs the best, but I would advise the selected system needs to be able to grow with the center’s needs. For example, we were not ready to incorporate text messaging, but we knew this feature may be needed in the future.
Have an idea that's worked well at your surgery center? Send it to Eric Oliver at eoliver@beckershealthcare.com.