Lining and labing in the waiting room

Register Today!
  1. by Feb 25, '12
    Does anyone else start care paths and line and lab patients in the waiting room?
    It is becoming an increasing concern over the legal aspect for the nurses at the hospital where I work?
    Read Online


    Print and share with friends and family.
    Compliments of allnurses.com.
    http://allnurses.com/showthread.php?t=678828

    by melimaras Feb 25, '12 9:36 am
    ©2013 allnurses.com INC. All Rights Reserved.
  2. 3,983 Views
    Click Tags to Find Similar Topics

  3. 20 Comments so far...

  4. Feb 25, '12 by
    Wow. Never heard of that. It would make me nervous to do that. Our drug seekers would love to obtain permanent access to their veins and then run out the door before being seen by a doctor.
    bjaeram, Lovely_RN, and DixieRedHead like this.
  5. Asst. Admin
    Feb 25, '12 by
    Yes it's done, and obviously your candidate for doing so is chosen very carefully. What is the legal concern?
  6. Feb 25, '12 by
    labs sure, but no lines! i'm a traveler and haven't seen PIVs in the waiting room.
    Zookeeper3, boyfactory, and JSJones,RN like this.
  7. Feb 25, '12 by
    We will draw labs, obtain EKGs, and order peripheral (not core) x-rays while the person waits in the lobby, if the wait is going to be more than an hour.
    boyfactory and JSJones,RN like this.
  8. Feb 26, '12 by
    Quote from ~*Stargazer*~
    We will draw labs, obtain EKGs, and order peripheral (not core) x-rays while the person waits in the lobby, if the wait is going to be more than an hour.
    Same here, but no lines.
    Zookeeper3 likes this.
  9. Feb 26, '12 by
    Quote from melimaras
    Does anyone else start care paths and line and lab patients in the waiting room?
    It is becoming an increasing concern over the legal aspect for the nurses at the hospital where I work?
    This is common practice where I work and I love it. It makes it easier to treat patients faster. I feel it also increases pt safety as results are known faster. We even give medications in the waiting room.
  10. Feb 26, '12 by
    Labs are routine, but if the triage nurse places a line, they wait in the sub-waiting room and are getting a bed assignment pretty fast.
  11. Feb 26, '12 by
    At my ED we start lines and medicate frequently in the triage/waiting room. Especially N/V/D patients, a little zofran and a liter of fluids hung on the wheelchair, and back to the waiting room! Anyone that is medicated with a narcotic is places very close to the triage nurse/nurses. Then, when a room is ready, their labs are back and the first time they are seen by MD, there is a plan of care initiated.
  12. Feb 27, '12 by
    Quote from melimaras
    Does anyone else start care paths and line and lab patients in the waiting room?
    It is becoming an increasing concern over the legal aspect for the nurses at the hospital where I work?
    In niether of the facilities I have worked at are we allowed to line patients in the waiting room. If we lined them, they wait in a sub waiting area. Otherwise, they have labs drawn and EKGs/radiology completed while they wait.