Patterns of Paging Activity Among Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery Residents: Implications for Patient Care

One-way alphanumeric pagers remain a primary communication method for health care providers, despite the rise of app-based communication systems. Frequent nonurgent pages can disrupt workflows and potentially impact patient care, particularly in high-demand specialties like oral and maxillofacial surgery (OMS).

The purpose of this study was to examine the association between paging patterns and time of day among OMS residents.

This retrospective cohort study analyzed paging data from the Emory Healthcare OMS service in 2021 and 2022. Pages included were those received by primary OMS residents responsible for inpatient care, consultations, and emergency department evaluations. Exclusions were pages related to outpatient matters and those sent to backup or senior-level residents.

The primary predictor variable was paging rate, defined as the number of pages received per hour. This measure captures the intensity of paging activity during specific periods.

The primary outcome variable was time of day, categorized into peak and off-peak hours. Peak hours were statistically determined through data analysis and were defined as 07:00-20:00 on weekdays and 09:00-14:00 on weekends. Off-peak hours included all other time periods. Secondary outcomes included the comparison of paging rates on weekdays versus weekends to identify potential variations in paging activity.

There are no covariates.

An independent t test was used to compare paging rates between peak and off-peak hours and between weekdays and weekends. Two-sided P values < .5 were considered statistically significant.

There were 7,224 pages. Of them, 4,626 pages met the inclusion criteria. In 2021, there was an average of 18.8 pages per day (range: 0 to 56; standard deviation: 10.2). In 2022, there were 19.2 pages per day (range: 3 to 52; standard deviation: 8.7). Weekdays had more pages (20.8 pages/day) than weekends (14.3 pages/day; P < .001). During weekday peak hours, there were 1.3 pages/hour compared to 0.4 pages/hour during off peak hours (P < .001). During weekend peak hours, there were 0.9 pages/hour compared to 0.5 pages/hour during off-peak hours (P value < .001). Weekdays between 0700 and 0800 had the highest average number of pages (1.53 pages/hour).

This study identified patterns in paging rates, with significantly higher paging activity during peak hours and on weekdays. Awareness of these patterns may inform the development of protocols to minimize nonurgent interruptions during critical times, such as during patient handoffs.