Missouri hospitals are taking healthcare's transparency movement a step further: They will stop using "code black" and other emergency codes and instead use plainer language, such as "bomb threat," according to a St. Louis Post-Dispatch report.
Some codes, such as "code red" for fire and "code blue" for medical emergencies, will remain in use because they are so widely used. But several other codes are being phased out. "Bomb threat," for instance, will be used in lieu of code black. Code silver will phase out for "active shooter." Code pink, used to indicate an infant abduction, is also retiring for plainer language.
In 2012, the Missouri Hospital Association organized a task force to come up with voluntary recommendations for universal emergency language. Approximately 90 percent of hospitals in the state have adopted new language this year, and most others are in the process of doing so, according to the report. The initiative is voluntary.
The MHA said the revised language is intended to promote transparency of safety protocols and reduce variation among hospitals.
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