Alphanumeric paging in an academic hospital setting

To determine whether implementation of an alphanumeric-paging system would improve physician work environment.

Surveys were distributed to all general surgery residents, faculty, and nurses before and after implementation of an alphanumeric-paging system. Housestaff also kept a detailed log of paging activity before and after the intervention.

User satisfaction with the paging system was measured using a Likert format survey. Interruptions to patient care and pages requiring a call back were tracked using paging logs.

Physician perceptions of the capability of text paging before the intervention were high and did not differ significantly postintervention. For nursing staff, postintervention perceptions of the text-paging system were significantly more positive than preintervention, especially with regard to perceived improvements in patient care (54.1% versus 81.6%, P < .05). Residents' paging logs reflected significantly decreased interruptions to patient care after the intervention (28.2% versus 46.9%, P < .05), with less pages requiring a call back (100% versus 73.6%, P < .05).

Study participants rated the alphanumeric-paging system highly. Text-paging technology has the potential to reduce interruptions in patient care and improve physician work efficiency and satisfaction.