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Ghent Healthcare Newsletter
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Apr 22, 2021
The conversation around healthcare whiteboards tends to be focused on using them as communication tools in patient rooms. While this is one of their primary uses, they are also incredible organizational tools that can help nurses coordinate patient care from behind the scenes. When placed in the nurses' station, hospital whiteboards can help increase the quality of care patients receive. They create a more efficient patient flow, keep care teams organized and focused, and eliminate treatment errors.
If you are planning on placing custom whiteboards in a nurses’ stations, consider using these useful information fields as a starting template for your design.
Since nurses’ station whiteboards are usually placed out of sight from the general public, it’s appropriate and HIPAA compliant to have visible patient information displayed on them. This allows care teams to access basic information about the patient without having to access digital or hard copy patient records. Some common patient information fields that are helpful on nurses’ station whiteboards include:
- Name- Age- Sex- Room number- Brief reason for the visit
Nurses’ station whiteboards can be used to track patient assignments, which allows better coordination of care. Care teams can quickly reference the whiteboard for necessary information that allows them to quickly react to call lights. Nurses can also easily track which physicians and therapists are assigned to each patient as well as who is on call. Care team assignment information fields can include:
- Nurses and nursing assistants- Attending physicians and specialists- Therapists (respiratory, physical and occupational, etc.)
Keeping track of patient locations and schedules can be time consuming, which is why using nurses’ station whiteboards as “patient trackers” can be very convenient for nurses. Nurses can track patients throughout the day and keep timestamps based on the patient’s:
- Medication schedules- Tests and imaging schedules- Next vitals check- Repositioning times (when to turn bedridden patients)- ETA for test results- Current location in the facility
In addition to essential information fields, facilities can also add notes next to each patient, creating more effective and efficient communication throughout the care team's busy day. When whiteboards can be customized, they become far more convenient and easier to use for nursing staff.
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