RESUMEN
BACKGROUND: Physicians' illegible handwriting is a notorious contributing factor to medical errors. Furthermore, an illegible signature or failure to print prescribers' name interferes with the ability of staff to clarify orders. METHODS: We surveyed support medical staff at a teaching hospital before and 2 months after providing all internal medicine department residents a self-inking stamp with their name and pager number. RESULTS: Responses were received from 51% at the first and 36% at the second survey of 401 eligible staff. Responses to questions regarding illegible or absent signature, illegible or absent pager number, and failure to print prescribers' name showed a significant improvement (P < .0001) after 52 residents working in the hospital started to sign orders with their stamp. The support staff also noted a significant reduction in the time required to contact a physician to clarify orders, from more than 10 minutes to 1 to 5 minutes (P < .0001). CONCLUSION: Physicians signing orders using a stamp with their name and pager number provide support staff legible identification, leading to an improvement in the quality of the order-writing process. This kind of signature allows clarification of orders in a timely fashion.