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IDEAS That Work
ROLE MODELS Staff at the River Drive Surgery Center show off the facility's cap and sticker system.
EASY IDENTIFIERS
Color-Coded Cataract Surgery
Put color-coded caps and dot stickers on eye patients so your staff can quickly identify who's undergoing which procedure. For example, here at our busy ophthalmic center, we place (A) blue caps on patients undergoing manual cataract surgery, (B) white caps and blue dots on the wristbands and name tags of patients scheduled for femtosecond laser surgery with the LenSx platform, and (C) white caps and red dots on patients undergoing femtosecond laser surgery with the OptiMedica platform.
We also place site-marking stickers above the eye to be operated on, as well as stickers that warn of potential issues related to allergies, fall risks and diabetes. The easy-to-notice cap and sticker system is just another way for nurses and surgeons to confirm they have the correct patient for the correct procedure on the correct eye.
Nancy Lord, RN, BSN
River Drive Surgery Center
Elmwood Park, N.J.
nlord@riverdrivesurgery.com
