What Do You Think? A Follow-up

In the January 2014 issue, CLD featured a discussion question submitted by Marshall Ritchey, MS, MBS, RCIS, CPFT, a cath lab manager. His question focused on whether STEMI patients — if stable and not in great distress — should be slid over from the cath lab exam table to the stretcher by staff or whether a patient should scoot themselves.

CLD received one additional answer, below…

Todd: Making a patient scoot or slide does increase the work of the heart.
In patients with ANY symptom or sign, or active complaint, I agree that they should be moved. Maybe if it was Tom Brady, LeBron James or someone in great shape, I might consider it…maybe… just for a second.
Asking someone to move when they have any symptoms is risky medically, risky ethically, risky politically, and risky to your patient survey process. DO NO HARM!
The challenge here is to find out WHY staff feel they need to have the patient move on their own. 

…And then we checked in with Mr. Ritchey on his final lab policy decision:

Thank you to all who participated in this discussion and for your support! Better safe than sorry. We will slide all STEMI patients. 

Respectfully yours,

Marshall Ritchey, Manager, Cardiac Cath Lab, Piedmont Medical Center, Rock Hill, South Carolina