One of the most common frustrations for patients in the hospital and those
who have recurring appointments is having to provide identifying information
at each visit. These checks are necessary to ensure patient safety, but
when the patient sees the same caregivers every day for 6-8 weeks, it gets old.
Patients receiving radiation therapy at the
Heptner Cancer Center now get a bar-coded registration card that is scanned at every visit.
The card works with special software to tell the staff that the patient
has arrived for their appointment and verifies that the correct patient
is receiving radiation treatment. In the photo, you can see patient Bert
Sutherland take advantage of the registration card system.
“It's much easier for radiation patients. For safety reasons,
we always ask identifying information, and with the card they can skip
those questions and be seen a little quicker,” said Leigh Worsley,
MS, RTT, CMD, Cancer Care Director.
Besides name and birthdate, the registration card contains each patient’s
specific medical record number and health history. It also pulls up their
treatment plan for radiation therapy and the data that went along with
each past visit—something patients find reassuring.
Patients also like that the card announces their arrival, as no one likes
to sit in the waiting room wondering if their provider knows they are
there. Therapists like this feature, too, as it saves them multiple trips
to the waiting room to check for the patient’s arrival. It’s
convenience and patient safety, all around!
Learn more about the services at the Heptner Cancer Center at
www.cchwyo.org/cancercare.