A code blue is called whenever a patient goes into cardiac arrest, has respiratory issues, or experiences any other type of severe medical emergency. These situations must be dealt with immediately and often require additional staff to be called in to assist. Every second in a code blue situation is crucial, so emergency managers want to have the most efficient and effective process possible.
Even in an emergency, many hospitals use a manual process to call employees when they need more staff members to come in. In such a stressful situation, emergency managers don’t have the time to call or text each staff member individually. When people aren’t picking up their phone, it can become extremely time consuming and frustrating. Therefore, you should be using an automated recall solution when a code blue occurs.
Let’s go over an example to make this situation a bit clearer:
A local hospital, ABC General, has just had a code blue called for a patient. The situation must be dealt with as soon as possible and the floor is currently severely understaffed to handle the situation.
Currently, ABC General has a staff member manually reach out to employees when they need extra resources. Instead of using this process, they are looking to implement an automated solution that sends out a mass notification with the click of a button. After this mass message is sent out, employees will be able to quickly respond to indicate if they can come into work or not.
In this blog, we will go over the steps to implement an automated recall solution for a code blue.
Step 1: Staff Registry
The first step of the process is to build an accurate database of staff who will receive a notification when a code blue is called. The database should incorporate all staff information such as names, titles, contact information, and job responsibilities.
It is essential to keep all this data up to date, as you may need to select how many of each employee type you need to respond and you want to be sure it is as accurate as possible. This data can be collected and updated via an online form. When each person fills out the form, their information will be stored in their profile in a central database.
Step 2: Message Templates
After building a database of your staff, emergency message templates should be created. Having messages already created will help you be more prepared when a code blue is called.
Code blue messages should be set up so that a single button press can tell employees when and where they are needed. When creating your message, it is important to include details about the situation and any specific requests for specialized staff that are required.
Step 3: Send Recall
Once the templates have been created, now you must simply send out the message. Your staff members can choose their preferred method of communication. Messages can be sent via email, SMS, or voice (phone call).
Another message can be sent once all needed responders have confirmed they are available, which will ensure that everyone knows the status of the situation and when all needed staff have been gathered. These recall messages can be sent by the click of a button, which makes it so much easier than a manual process.
Step 4: Reports
The last step of the code blue notification process is your report. During the emergency, messages can be tracked in real time. After the event has occurred, your solution will create an in-depth report that shows how your messages were engaged with.
These reports provide management with valuable data that can be used to optimize messages in the future. Your report will show you key details such as the response of each staff member, who received the message, and the time messages were sent.
Interested in an automated recall solution for code blue situations at a hospital?
If your hospital is looking to improve their code blue emergency response process, SimplyCast has you covered. Here at SimplyCast, we have built a solution using our contact management and recall tools that can be used for an automated staff recall process during a code blue situation. Our solution is customizable and can be used in hospitals of all sizes.
Click the button below to request a one-on-one demo from our team and let us show you how an automated staff recall process can improve efficiency in code blue situations.
