Chris Longhurst
Publication Details
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Alphanumeric paging in an academic hospital setting.
Am J Surg. 2006; (4): 561-5OBJECTIVE: To determine whether implementation of an alphanumeric-paging system would improve physician work environment. DESIGN: Surveys were distributed to all general surgery residents, faculty, and nurses before and after implementation of an alphanumeric-paging system. Housestaff also kept a detailed log of paging activity before and after the intervention. MEASUREMENTS: User satisfaction with the paging system was measured using a Likert format survey. Interruptions to patient care and pages requiring a call back were tracked using paging logs. RESULTS: Physician perceptions of the capability of text paging before the intervention were high and did not differ significantly postintervention. For nursing staff, postintervention perceptions of the text-paging system were significantly more positive than preintervention, especially with regard to perceived improvements in patient care (54.1% versus 81.6%, P < .05). Residents' paging logs reflected significantly decreased interruptions to patient care after the intervention (28.2% versus 46.9%, P < .05), with less pages requiring a call back (100% versus 73.6%, P < .05). CONCLUSIONS: Study participants rated the alphanumeric-paging system highly. Text-paging technology has the potential to reduce interruptions in patient care and improve physician work efficiency and satisfaction.
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