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Stocking of a Busy Emergency Department

NCT01586832 · Status: COMPLETED · Type: OBSERVATIONAL · Enrollment: 565

Last updated 2016-10-14

No results posted yet for this study

Summary

Stocking of essential supplies in an emergency department (ED) is crucial in order to efficiently and effectively take care of patients. When equipment and supplies are not available to patient care providers, an imbalance in the delivery of care is created. The amount of time nurses spend away from the bedside obtaining supplies has only been superficially studied; however, one study proposed that the majority of nurses spend 5 to 20 percent or more of their time during a shift. This results in 30 minutes to two-and-a-half hours of a twelve hour shift being lost to retrieving supplies that are not available.

Cabinets and drawers have recently been eliminated in the rooms and stock is kept in "supply towers" that contain all the necessary supplies to adequately take care of patients with the exception of medications, or stationary supplies. Towers are restocked every morning by a stocking technician by taking the towers to the stock room, resupplying them based on previously established PAR levels, and utilizing a standard chart that describes exactly what supply, and how many to stock within a specified area of the cart.

During their shift, the stocking technician must also respond to pages concerning low stock levels.

Hypothesis:

Nurses spend a significant amount of time away from the patient bedside during their shift looking for supplies.

Conditions

  • Emergencies

Sponsors & Collaborators

  • Lehigh Valley Hospital

    lead OTHER

Principal Investigators

  • David Richardson, MD · Lehigh Valley Health Network

Eligibility

Sex
ALL
Healthy Volunteers
Yes

Timeline & Regulatory

Start
2008-01-31
Primary Completion
2013-12-31
Completion
2013-12-31

Countries

  • United States

Study Locations

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Read the full study record

This page highlights key information. For complete eligibility criteria, study locations, investigator contacts, and the full protocol, visit the original record on ClinicalTrials.gov.

View NCT01586832 on ClinicalTrials.gov