TITLE:
Diversity of Emergency Codes in Hospitals
AUTHORS:
Nilsa Padilla-Elías, Marisol Peña-Orellana, Ralph Rivera-Gutiérrez, Juan A. Gónzalez-Sánchez, Heriberto A. Marín Centeno, Héctor Alonso-Serra, Liza Millán-Pérez, Patricia Monserrrate-Vázquez
KEYWORDS:
Communications; Hospitals Health; Health Communications; Emergency Preparedness; Preparedness; Emergency Codes
JOURNAL NAME:
International Journal of Clinical Medicine,
Vol.4 No.11,
November
15,
2013
ABSTRACT: Background: Hospitals must be prepared to deal efficiently and effectively with different
emergencies. To accomplish this, several countries have standardized their
hospital emergency codes to improve their response capability. This is
particularly important in Puerto Rico given that many health professionals,
particularly physicians and nurses, provide services in more than one hospital.
This study examined the emergency codes and alerts utilized in Puerto Rican
hospitals. Objective: To assess
hospitals’ level of emergency preparedness and response capability related to
the variability of emergency codes and alerts utilized to respond to a
situation in Puerto Rico. Method: A
survey was conducted to characterize hospital emergency department level of
preparedness and response to a mass fatality incident. A total of 39 out of a
sample of 44 hospitals participated in the study. Semi-structured
questionnaires were administered by the research team to members of each
hospital’s administrative staff to explore the following: general hospital
characteristics, emergency plans, emergency department capacity, collaborative
agreements, personnel training, emergency communications, laboratory facilities,
treatment protocols, security, epidemiologic surveillance, equipment and
infrastructure. Results: Some
hospitals in Puerto Rico use color coded emergency alerts, while others use key
words or codes. Single color emergency codes can have different meanings in
different hospitals. Conclusions: The findings clearly show that there is a lack of uniformity and clarity in the
emergency codes utilized by hospitals in Puerto Rico. Single color codes have
diverse meanings in different hospitals. This could adversely affect hospitals’ efficient and effective emergency response.