Beyond Paging: Building a Web-based Communication Tool for Nurses and Physicians

Introduction  The traditional means of communication between nurses and physicians is through paging. This method is disruptive to the workflow of both professions and is too non-specific to be used for all types of messages. Aims  We undertook a quality improvement project to streamline communication between nurses and trainees for urgent and non-urgent matters. We assessed user uptake and satisfaction with the new method. Setting  A General Internal Medicine teaching unit in a tertiary care academic centre. Methods  Through collaborative techniques, we developed a novel communication method that sends non-urgent messages to a Web-based task list and urgent messages to an alphanumeric pager. We implemented this new technology using a collaborative process between nurses and physicians to address all concerns. Evaluation  Post-implementation surveillance indicated a high degree of uptake of the new practice. User surveys and focus groups showed a high level of satisfaction and a perceived decrease in interruptions to the workflow of both nurses and physicians with the new system. Usage data indicated that the new system may increase overall non-urgent communication. Conclusion  A Web-based system to triage urgent and non-urgent messages between nurses and physicians was developed collaboratively and implemented successfully to improve workflow for both groups.