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O U T P AT I E N T S U R G E R Y M A G A Z I N E O N L I N E | M A R C H 2 0 1 4
IDEAS
That Work
I
f you've yet
to go paper-
less, color-
code your
patient charts
by specialty
and you'll
spend less time
trying to locate
the one you're
looking for. We
came upon this
idea quite by
accident. The
charts we hap-
pened to buy
came in 5 col-
ors. That gave us the idea to assign each specialty a color. Our pre-
anesthesia testing department uses blue for orthopedic, podiatry and
spine cases; yellow for general surgery; green for gynecological and
neurological; and so on. It makes it that much easier to locate a spe-
cific chart as it flows through the pre-admission testing process. It's
also a good way to see at a glance that assignments are well-balanced
among nurses. When the charts get divided up in the morning, every-
body should have roughly the same color combination.
Leneya DeMatthew, BS, RN
Wheaton Franciscan Healthcare Racine, Wis.
leneya.dematthew@wfhc.org
BETTER ORGANIZATION
Color-Coded Charts Save Time
COLOR SCHEME It's easier to find a chart
when you know what color you're looking for.
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