Design Thinking as a Way to Improve Patient Experience
Students in a two-day course offered by the Hasso Plattner Institute of Design at Stanford looked for ways to improve the patient experience in the Stanford emergency department.
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The Stanford ED is a Level 1 Pediatric and Adult Trauma Center serving children and adults. We treat major and minor illnesses and injuries. From arrival to discharge and every step in between, find out what to expect during your visit.
Patients who visit the emergency department undergo a process of initial evaluation known as "triage." This means that each patient is evaluated by a nurse and/or doctor to determine the level of medical emergency. This is necessary to rapidly identify the sickest patients and provide them promptly with care. It also enables us to endeavor to keep every patient's wait time as short as possible while providing the appropriate level of care to all patients.
Our comfortable waiting room is equipped with free Wi-fi and a television.
After the Quick Reg process is complete, you may be asked to take a seat in the waiting room. If the waiting room is crowded, you will find additional seating just outside the Emergency department entrance. If the patient is a child, you will likely be directed to proceed to the pediatric emergency waiting room which requires walking through the front section of the main Emergency department.
A nurse will meet with you in the waiting room to further discuss your symptoms and the reason for your visit. A set of vital signs (such as blood pressure and heart rate) will be taken, you will be asked about your level of pain, medications, allergies, and medical history. Based on this information, your care will be arranged. Your name will be announced when it is time for you to be seen by a doctor.
Between the hours of noon to 8 pm, we use an innovative approach called "Team Triage." This means that an attending (faculty) doctor and nurse work closely together in the waiting room to assess your condition. This allows us to begin diagnosis (lab tests, x-rays, etc.) and treatment before you have been assigned a bed. We have several curtained areas in the waiting room for your privacy while you meet with these care providers.
"Each and every day in the E.D. brings new challenges and the opportunities to become a helpful part of people's lives, at a time when they most need us."
- Paul Auerbach, M.D. Redlich Family Professor of Surgery - Emergency Medicine
Students in a two-day course offered by the Hasso Plattner Institute of Design at Stanford looked for ways to improve the patient experience in the Stanford emergency department.
The Stanford Emergency Department is open 24 hours a day. The Fast Track program is open daily from 11:30am-11:30pm and provides emergency care for patients 2 and older with minor illnesses and injuries. Most Fast Track patients are discharged within 90 minutes.
Most Emergency Department visits aren't planned. However, if you are able, please bring the following with you:
International Patients
Phone: +1 650-723-8561
Email: IMS@stanfordhealthcare.org