looking for ideas on coordinating care

[happyhelpert]

All -

I keep hearing complaints from patients that they have to keep telling their story (chief complaint) over and over again. We have to ask, so I'm wondering if there are ways out that that your EDs have managed to communicate chief complant among staff without having electronic medical records.

Love to hear your suggestions.

[MomNRN, BSN, RN]

I know pt's find it annoying to keep telling their story, but I don't know if there is a way around it.

I find that they often change their story, add different details to their story, or present their symptoms in a different manner depending on who they are talking to.

I review all "stories" - triage, mine, and doctor and then look for a common thread.

More often than not, there are many missing important details. I think it would be a mistake to only hear the story once.

[bill4745, RN]

I agree with MOMNRN - there is a purpose in having them repeat. The stories change: what starts as chest pain in triage ends up being drug-seeking in the ER, or what starts as nausea out front ends up being an acute MI.

[nursebrandie28, BSN, RN]

I think everybody so far is right on the money. The stories sometimes change, a lot of them are not consistant and sometimes it gets confusing.

I mean whats the big deal about repeating the story, at least they know that their nurse cares enough to ask!!

[canoehead, BSN, RN]

If the patient tells the story once, and then we communicate it to each other it becomes a game of telephone where the end result bears no resemblance to the original chief complaint.

Each asker uncovers another piece of information that could be important. Every day I have a patient that remembers another medication allergy when someone else asks. We have patients that give the triage nurse one complaint and the MD something completely different. 90% of the time we get more info from multiple questioners, even if the complaint looks simple, like a cold or earache.