2 2
O U T P AT I E N T S U R G E R Y M A G A Z I N E O N L I N E | M AY 2 0 1 5
I D E A S T H A T W O R K
W
e color-code
the label on
the spine of
each patient's chart with a
highlighter as the chart
travels through the appro-
priate channels. This lets
us see the status of the
chart at a glance while the
charts are on the rack.
• Yellow means the chart
is complete and has all
required documentation
for the case to be admit-
ted.
• Green means the patient
has been called with her
arrival time (this helps
greatly to ensure no charts
are missed!).
• Pink shows the chart was entered into our billing system.
• Blue means the follow-up call has been completed and document-
ed.
Vickie O'Donnell, RN, BSN
Advanced Surgical Institute
Sewell, N.J.
vaodonnell@virtua.org
S P I N E L A N G U A G E
Color-code Labels On Patient Charts
Vickie
O'Donnell,
RN,
BSN
z AT A GLANCE Our color-coding system on the spine of the
patient's chart lets staff know what needs to be done next.
