gscott

I am currently studying the process of charge capture in a hospital and need some RN perspective. We currently have paper fee tickets across our system and it is difficult for the RN's to remember all they do for a patient and to write it down accurately so their functions can be appropriately billed. I get that the RN focus is on patient care and not paperwork. Before our switch to a new EMR is complete, what can I do to make it easier for RN's to list their charges? We already have a multi-day fee ticket that resides on the chart itself. Should someone else pull the charges from the medical record? Would it be easier to scan barcodes at the chart pulldown outside each room? Any feedback would be great! Thanks again, you all add a much needed view to my engineering world.

Yes, we do track patient load and assignments but often in our ICU's, patients may be a 1:1 for a few hours then off then back on (Level 1 Trauma Center) and it drastically changes the nurse staffing needs. They currently write down on the Charge nurses daily sheet who is a 1:1 but it's not totally accurate and if the information isn't extracted from those sheets manually, no one can see it - hence staffing plans look like they went awry when they didn't. Thanks for the feedback though - much appreciated.

I am a process engineer looking at how to better capture the volume of one-to-one patients in the ICU, MICU, SICU units in the health system where I work. Which patients and how many there are that need a one-to-one (RN to Patient) assignment is often lost on the unit's daily sheet and not reflected in the financial records, etc. How does your unit track this volume of patients and how many does your unit carry on average per day? Thank you so much - I have learned so much from all of you - it's the only place I can get a real nurse's perspective.:wink2:

Hi jessieka, Legacy has 5 hospitals, 5 ER's, 1 of them being Level 1 Trauma. OHSU (Oregon Health and Sciences Univeristy) is also a Level ! Trauma Center. Harborview in Seattle is a Level 1 Trauma as well. The wages differ between these sites but all being in large NW cities, the decision to move could be better based on cost of living in Portland vs. Seattle. Portland is a little smaller - a very friendly city and Seattle is high dollar and larger so more city-like. I wish you the best. If you'd like to apply to these places, Google "Legacy Health System" and "OHSU" in Portland, Oregon and "Harborview Medical Center Seattle" - they all have websites. Good luck and hopefully welcome to the beautiful NW! We have no huge bugs, tornadoes, or hurricanes!

Hi there, I am a process improvement engineer interested in the nursing perspective since I am not clinical and this whole Charge taking assignments issue has come up in our hospitals as well. Anyone have any ICU advice on the subject? Thanks! Gayle

Hi Melanie, I know this is an old thread but the issue keeps coming up. Our system sounds very similar to yours. What sizes are the ICU's you have? Thanks, Gayle

Hi all, I am the process engineer, back for more! I recently did a study in an ICU that was adjacent to the ED. Half the nurses felt this was extremely beneficial and the other half didn't really find any added value in it. The hospital I was at was a Level 1 Trauma center so it seemed logical to have the ICU right there, along with the diagnostics and OR. Any feedback on this issue? I'd like to know what you nurses think. Thank you!

Legacy Emanuel is 1 of 5 hospitals in the Legacy system and they hire grads into the ER - it is 1 of 3 Level 1 Trauma centers in the NW

Thank you so much for all the details! I can't imagine having the resources of all those doctors! We have 5 labs but only a handful of doctors that use them (5-7) on a regular basis. Thank you again!

I am not an RN but a process engineer new to healthcare and working with cath labs in our area to streamline their operations...staffing has become a large issue and we are wondering what other staffing models are out there. You all seem to have tons of experience...how many people and of what training are in each lab during procedures? We have the attending, an RT, a monitor person, an RN, and a scrub. It sounds like you all have 2 RN's and the attending (?) I would love to hear your perspectives on what is really needed in the lab. I want to make sure that patients have what they need and that the room isn't congested - help?