Ideas That Work: Stoplight Simplifies Post-Care Decisions

Practical pearls from your colleagues

When patients are recovering from intense surgeries at home and something unexpected or concerning occurs, they need to know whether what they’re experiencing is a common-but-alarming natural byproduct of their surgical journey or whether it’s a warning sign that they should seek additional care immediately. To make this process as seamless as possible for patients, Wexford (Pa.) Surgery Center created an Orthopedic Surgery Stoplight document that breaks down postop experiences into three color-coded “Zones” that mirror the universally understood stoplight: Green Zone (you’re doing well); Yellow Zone (you’re feeling worse); and Red Zone (Get help now).

Under each zone, the patient tool offers a list of signs and symptoms as well as instructions for what patients should do if they find themselves in each zone. For instance, the Red Zone, which includes symptoms such as a temperature of 101.5°C or higher and persistent inability to keep pain meds, food or liquids down, advises patients to call their healthcare provider immediately any time of day or night.

The stoplight was a byproduct of the facility’s ongoing efforts to improve the patient experience. “Our medical director, Dr. Edward Birdsong, chartered a team to develop a learning tool to help patients decide which level of medical care to seek depending on their symptoms,” says Korie Enscoe, MSN, RN, director of quality and patient safety for Allegheny Health Network’s Ambulatory Surgery Centers, which includes Wexford Surgery Center. OSM