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At least 163 records · Page 9Linked to original sources
PubMed1995

Nurses' perception of beeper calls. Implications for resident stress and patient care.

OBJECTIVES: To describe beeper calls made by nurses to physicians and to compare the nurses' ratings of the urgency of the beeper calls with the physicians' responses to the calls. DESIGN: Nurses were asked to complete beeper logs for all calls made to physicians. Nurses also recorded the physician's response to the call. Nurses assessed each call as routine (answer needed in 12 to 24 hours), urgent (answer needed soon to accomplish patient care), or an emergency (patient assessment needed immediately). SETTING: A university-affiliated children's hospital in Salt Lake City, Utah. RESULTS: Nurses recorded 849 beeper calls. Of this number, 30 (4%) were judged to be an emergency, 275 (32%) were perceived to be urgent, and 471 (55%) were considered to be routine. The recorded physician response for 597 calls is as follows: 60 calls (10%) resulted in physician assessment of the patient; 211 calls (35%) resulted in verbal orders given over the telephone; 136 calls (23%) resulted in other action taken; and 190 calls (32%) resulted in no action taken. While calls that were judged to be an emergency were more likely to result in physician assessment of the patient than were other calls (nine [45%] of 20 vs 49 [9%] of 541 calls) (P < .001), nearly half (43%) of the calls that resulted in physician assessment of the patient had been judged to be routine. Calls that were perceived to be urgent or routine did not significantly differ from the percentage of calls that resulted in no action taken by the physician (52 [27%] of 193 vs 118 [34%] of 348 calls). CONCLUSIONS: Nurses' ratings of the urgency of beeper calls are not good predictors of physician response to the call. Unless nurses' and physicians' perceptions of the urgency of beeper calls are similar, delaying response to routine calls cannot be assumed to be a safe and effective way to decrease unnecessary interruptions to resident activities.

Attitude of Health Personnel↗
PubMed1995

Fading characteristics of a 2.3 GHz radio telemetry channel in a hospital building.

This paper reports on radio path attenuation measurements made in a hospital complex at a spot frequency of 2.340 GHz. Power loss figures for fixed path propagation in a variety of building types have been determined for proposed telemetry use in operational ward situations. Throughout the hospital, the radio paths assessed all exhibited a loss in excess of that calculated for free-space communications. Modern buildings had external wall losses of 10-25 dB, with dividing walls in wards contributing an additional 5 dB. Received signal strength levels indicated a Rayleigh distribution for obstructed paths. Temporal testing was used to find the rate and depth of signal fades caused by the movement of personnel and equipment during normal ward usage; signal level reductions of greater than 35 dB were common during busy periods.

Biomedical Engineering↗
PubMed2006

The effect of random voice hand hygiene messages delivered by medical, nursing, and infection control staff on hand hygiene compliance in intensive care.

Hand hygiene (HH) compliance in the intensive care unit has been studied extensively, with short-term, nonsustained compliance often because of lack of ongoing reinforcement. HH messages delivered by health care workers responsible for overseeing staff in the intensive care unit provided continuous reinforcement of HH. Compliance measured through product usage and reported as HH/bed-days increased by 60% for soap and sanitizer combined and 25% for sanitizer usage (P < 001).

Administration, Cutaneous↗
PubMed2006

Use of an innovative design mobile hospital in the medical response to Hurricane Katrina.

On August 29, 2005, Hurricane Katrina caused widespread devastation to the Gulf Coast region of the United States. Although New Orleans had extensive damage from flooding, many communities in Mississippi had equal damage from storm surge and wind. Because the medical resources in many of these areas were incapacitated, resources from North Carolina were deployed to assist in the medical mission. This response included the initial use of Carolinas MED-1, a mobile hospital that incorporates an emergency department, surgical suite, critical care beds, and general treatment and admitting area. This asset, along with additional state resources, provided comprehensive diagnostic and definitive patient care until the local medical infrastructure was rebuilt and functional. The use of a mobile hospital may be advantageous for future deployments to large-scale disasters, especially when integrated with specialty teams.

Disasters↗
PubMed2002

Bacterial contamination of hospital pagers.

We assessed the bacterial contamination of the pagers of healthcare personnel and the efficacy of disinfection with 70% isopropyl alcohol. Microorganisms were isolated from all pagers; 21% yielded Staphylococcus aureus, of which 14% were methicillin resistant. Cleaning with alcohol reduced the total colony count by an average of 94%. Bacterial load varied by healthcare worker group and service assignment.

2-Propanol↗
PubMed2005

Central dose data management and analysis in IT-driven radiation protection strategies.

The applications of information technology in health care are now widespread and continue to grow. Medical imaging is at the forefront of this revolution and the introduction of digital detection methods to replace film is now addressing the diagnostic X-ray market, the most routinely employed imaging modality. The introduction of picture archiving and communication systems, hospital and radiology information systems is well underway, and the integration of radiation protection initiatives into these developments is desirable. In north-west UK, a project aimed at developing and implementing IT-driven radiation protection strategies has been underway for the past 10 y. Such strategies are geared towards the support of European Commission patient dose directive 97/43 EURATOM, in particular the need to implement clinical audit, patient dose audit and to establish dose reference levels. This paper demonstrates the national and local requirements for establishing a central dose data management system for use in radiation protection strategies. In particular, such a system can help develop and support the role of a medical physics expert in optimisation. The scientific requirements for such an approach are presented in this paper, and a prototype system is described. Preliminary results obtained with the central data management facility are also presented and the implication for analysing multiple site dose data in optimisation strategies for digital radiographic technology is highlighted.

Calibration↗
PubMed2006

Effects of nursing rounds: on patients' call light use, satisfaction, and safety.

OBJECTIVE: There is limited research on patient call light use as it pertains to effective patient-care management, patient safety, and patient satisfaction. Therefore, this study sought to determine the frequency of and reasons for patients' call light use, the effects of one-hour and two-hour nursing rounds on patients' use of the call light, and the effects of such rounding on patient satisfaction, as well as patient safety as measured by the rate of patient falls. METHODS: A six-week nationwide study was performed using a quasi-experimental nonequivalent groups design; baseline data was taken during the first two weeks. Analyses were performed on data from 27 nursing units in 14 hospitals in which members of the nursing staff performed rounds either at one-hour or two-hour intervals using a specified protocol. RESULTS: Specific nursing actions performed at set intervals were associated with statistically significant reduced patient use of the call light overall, as well as a reduction of patient falls and increased patient satisfaction. CONCLUSIONS: A protocol that incorporates specific actions into nursing rounds conducted either hourly or once every two hours can reduce the frequency of patients' call light use, increase their satisfaction with nursing care, and reduce falls. Based on these results, we suggest operational changes in hospitals, emphasizing nurse rounding on patients to achieve more effective patient-care management and improved patient satisfaction and safety.

Hospital Communication Systems↗
PubMed2002

Ethics and computer-mediated communication: implications for practice and policy.

Computer-mediated communication, or email, has become a common workplace practice. Interviews with Army nurse managers (n = 9) and their staff nurses (n = 13) revealed that nurses incorporate the ethical principles of autonomy, beneficence, nonmaleficence, and justice into their computer-mediated communication use, but to varying degrees. Without clearly defined policies to guide computer-mediated communication practices, informal norms evolve that have an impact on both individual and corporate communication. The authors provide insight into the ethical considerations that have an impact on computer-mediated communication use. The spectrum of participant interpretation of appropriate use of this type of communication suggests the need for policies to establish clear boundaries for workplace usage. Policy recommendations are included.

Adult↗