Washington hospitals to standardize code calls, wristbands, checklists, signage to reduce errors

When a patient’s heart stops in the hospital, the staff calls a “code” to summoning a resuscitation or “crash” team.

But in one Washington hospital the call code for the crash team” might be “code 4″, while in another it might be “code blue”.

And in yet another hospital “code blue” might be the call for a security guard, not the crash team.

In fact, a survey conducted by the Washington State Hospital Association found that Washington hospitals were using eight different code calls to summon their crash teams.

That might be fine if everyone only worked in one hospital, but today doctors, nurses and other staff often work in several hospitals, and having different code calls at different hospitals invites disaster, says Larry Schecter, chief medical officer at Providence Regional Medical Center in Everett.

“When someone calls a ‘code blue’ for a patient going into cardiac arrest, it is vital that the crash team and not the security guards race to the patient’s room,” says Dr. Schecter

The Association found the same problem with the wristbands used to identify patients who have conditions that the staff needs to know about.

A red wristband, for example, might indicate that a patient has a drug allergy and should not be given a certain class of drugs.

But in another hospital, a red wristband might means something altogether different.

The same problem is found with warning signs, such as signs posted outside patient rooms warning that visitors need to wear masks.

These often come in different colors with different graphics at different hospitals. 

To try to reduce chances of confusion and the risk of medical errors, Washington hospitals have agreed to standardize their code calls, wristbands, warning signage, and other materials so they are the same in every facility.

Implementation of the switchover should be completed by October of this year.

To learn more:

• Go to the Washington State Hospital Association Website which has a description of the new initiative and toolkits and PowerPoint materials to help with implementation.

Tags: Hospitals, Medical Errors, Patient Safety, Quality Improvement, Washington State Hospital Association

Category: Hospital News, Safety