Goals
- To maintain confidentiality of patients in the waiting room of the Trauma and Emergency Center.
- To be able to call family members back to the treatment area, allowing them more mobility during extensive waits.
1. The triage nurse will give each patient a pager after he or she has been triaged.
2. The number of the pager will be written on the nurse’s note in the upper right area of the form.
3. Patients and family members present will instructed on the use of the pager such as: "The pager is used to let you know when we are ready to take you back to the treatment area to see the doctor. The pager will make a buzzing (or vibrating) sound. We are using them so that we do not announce patients’ names in the waiting room, and that provides privacy for you."
4. Patients will be instructed to come toward the registration desk to meet the staff who will take them back to the treatment area.
5. Patients in wheelchairs will be instructed to raise their hand in acknowledgement so that the staff member can then wheel them to the treatment area.
6. The pager then can be given to a family member/friend with instructions for that person to come to the treatment area when the pager buzzes to rejoin the patient.
7. The staff person should introduce him/herself to the patient and family and explain that he or she is going to take the patient to a room to see the doctor.
8. Do not use the patient’s name until you are out of the public area. Using the patient’s name then is important to ensure proper identity of the patient.
9. Pagers will be returned by placing them in the basket on the registration desk or by placing them back in the charger.
10. Pagers will be wiped off with a disinfectant after patient use, as needed, and all pagers will be cleaned once a day.
Source: Gunderson Lutheran Medical Center, La Crosse, WI.
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