In-hospital Paging Systems: An Effective Method of Communication between Hospital Staff in 2015?

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In-hospital Paging Systems: An Effective Method of Communication between Hospital Staff in 2015?

Ir Med J. 2015 Oct;108(9):267-70

Authors: Carey B, O'Carroll-Lolait C, Donlon NE, McDermott SJ, Lahiff C, Byrne D

Abstract
Policies in relation to paging are designed to achieve effective in-hospital communication. This study recorded data in relation to pages received by interns over a two-week period. A survey was conducted assessing perceptions on paging and existing hospital policy. Four interns collected data in relation to 20 regular-day, 4 extended-day and 4 on-call (two weekday and two weekend) shifts (n = 423 pages). Sixty-nine pages (16%) were made during pager-free periods. On average 3 minutes per hour were spent dealing with pages. Compliance with ISBAR ranged from 50.1% to 83.4%. Of the episodes where pages were made during protected times (n = 85), 67% did not meet urgent criteria. While the majority of these pages were from nurses, they were less likely to violate the policy than other staff (relative risk 0.648, p = 0.016). Efforts need to be made to ensure pager-free periods are respected in the interest of effective communication, staff morale and protected training time.

PMID: 26625649 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]

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