Utilization of patient pager for preservation of privacy in clinic waiting room.

192 Background: Patient privacy is of the utmost importance for the emotional needs of a cancer patient and their family. As an effort to improve privacy, quality, and coordination of care within our Radiation Oncology department, in 2016 a patient pager system was devised to inform patients to prepare for daily treatment rather than verbally call the patient's name in waiting rooms. Methods: During June 2016, patients undergoing daily radiation therapy participated in a six-question survey addressing various aspects of the paging service, privacy prior to pager use, and demographics. Six radiation therapists also participated in a 7-question survey addressing privacy and workflow. Participants rated their experience on a scale of 1 to 5 (1 being poor, 5 being excellent). Surveys were collected and retrospectively reviewed. Results: 42 patients completed the survey. Patients rated "Very Good" to "Excellent" for the following categories: “Paging system more convenient than being called”(4.6), “Protection of privacy”(4.6), “Easiness”(4.7) and whether “Pager should be utilized for all appointments” (4.3). Patients rated “Patient privacy when name is called” as "Good" to "Very Good" (3.7). Seven patients also underwent therapy prior to pager implementation and rated the new system in comparison as "Very Good" to "Excellent" for “Privacy protection”(4.6), “Efficiency” (4.6), and “Satisfaction” (4.6). Only 24 filled out demographic information. Of the 24 patients, 54% of patients were female, 87% were above the age of 50, and all patients were receiving at least 10 treatments. Staff rated "Fair" to "Very Good" for “More preparation time” (2.8), “Patient use difficulty”(3.2), “Patient positive feedback”(2.3), “Receiving patients” (2.2) and “Workflow” (2). However, “Patient privacy” was rated as "Very Good" to "Excellent" (4.2). Conclusions: Overall, patients and staff highly rated the paging system for protecting privacy in the waiting room. Patients who experienced waiting room procedure prior to pager implementation display greater satisfaction with a paging system. However, it did not change overall workflow. Our study shows clinics should prioritize patient privacy in the waiting room to improve the emotional needs of the patient.