USING PATIENT CARE REMINDERS
When placed at the head of the patient's bed, care reminders call attention to the patient's special needs and help ensure consistent care by communicating these needs to the hospital staff, the patient's family, and other visitors.
You can use a specially designed card or a plain piece of paper to post important information about the patient, such as:
- allergies
- dietary restrictions
- fluid restrictions
- specimen collection
- patient deaf or hearing-impaired in right ear
- foreign-language speaker.
You can also use care reminders to post special instructions, such as:
- complete bed rest
- no blood pressure on right arm
- turn every 1 hour
- nothing by mouth.
Never violate the patient's privacy by posting his diagnosis, details about surgery, or any information he might find embarrassing.
