Effective Monday, 8/24/2020, the Surgery number x4499 will be modified when calling after-hours (nights, weekends, and observed holidays).

After-hours the call will work like this:

• Surgeon calls x4499 at 2 PM on a Saturday to schedule urgent surgery
• If the phone rings 4 times and is unanswered, the caller will hear the following message: "If you are scheduling a surgery, press 1 to be transferred to the CAR. Or you may stay on the line or try your call again later."
• If the caller presses 1, they will be transferred to the CAR x4498 to schedule surgery
• If the caller does nothing, the phone will continue ring x4499 indefinitely until the call is answered, or the caller hangs up.

In order to support this new process, the Surgery RNs have been informed to complete the following when working after-hours:

• When you are on-call, be certain to keep add-on sheets with you, so that you can collect case information to be entered into Epic at the right time during your shift.
• If you are unable to collect the case information in the moment, ask the surgeon for a number to call back when things settle.

This new workflow will allow the CAR to be the back-up for surgery scheduling instead of the primary resource, and should help prevent some scheduling errors. Since there is no guarantee the Surgery RN will answer your call right away, it is still appropriate to call x4498 directly to schedule emergency surgery.

Although this process is not perfect, it is a step in the right direction. We continue to explore additional options with Epic to see how we could further improve this experience. Please contact Stephanie_Lilje@Valleymed.org with any questions.