title: Alphanumeric paging: a potential source of problems in patient care and communication.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  In recent years, the use of numeric paging in many medical centers has been largely replaced by 1-way alphanumeric paging. There is currently no research studying the potential for alphanumeric paging to lead to problems in communication. The purpose of this article is to determine whether the use of alphanumeric pagers may lead to potential problems in patient care and/or communication.
  
  
  METHODS
  Alphanumeric pages sent to residents on 3 surgical services at the Medical College of Virginia Hospital were collected over a 3-month period. The pages were classified according to reason for the page, amount of information provided, and follow-up required.
  
  
  RESULTS
  A total of 52,384 alphanumeric pages were sent to residents on the surgical services over a 3-month period. There were 1037 pages (2.0% of total) that contained patient laboratory results. 11,844 pages (22.6% of total) contained a callback number with no sender information and 6198 (11.8% of total) contained a callback number and sender information. Trauma pages totaled 10,312 (19.7% of total). There were 2636 pages (5.0% of total) that contained identifying information, potentially violating HIPAA regulations.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The authors have observed a significant number of occurrences in which alphanumeric pages lack sufficient information, do not indicate the urgency of the page, and still require immediate callback by residents. This potentially interrupts patient care and educational activities.
authors: Division of Surgical Oncology, Department of Surgery, Medical College of Virginia Hospital, Virginia Commonwealth University Health System, Richmond, Virginia 23298, USA.
authors: Sasa
authors: S
authors: Espino
authors: Diane
authors: D
authors: Cox
authors: Brian
authors: B
authors: Kaplan
mesh_terms: D003142:Communication; D006747:Hospital Communication Systems / Q000592:standards*; D006801:Humans; D019300:Medical Errors; D005791:Patient Care / Q000592:standards*