By Healthcare Facilities Today

Missouri hospitals will no longer use phrases like 'code black' and 'code orange' in high-alert situations, according to an article on the Fierce Healthcare. 

The Missouri Hospital Association wants organizations to use more transparent phrases like "bomb threat" or "active shooter" rather than code phrases, the article said. Pain language alerts and warnings will heighten patient safety and response time, Leslie Porth, vice president of health planning at the Missouri Hospital Association, said in the article.

"With outdated codes that didn't have clarity, there was sometimes a delay in the response from patients and visitors who didn't understand the directive," Porth said. "A lot of research supports the fact that plain language leads to increased patient safety and reduces confusion."

The Missouri Hospital Association started a task force to address language changes in 2012, after a tornado tore through Joplin, Mo., destroying 320-bed St. John's Regional Medical Center.

Today, almost 90 percent of hospitals across the state have adopted the new terminology when it comes to tornadoes, bomb threats and other emergencies, according to the article. Popular phrases, such as "code red" for fire and "code blue" for medical emergencies, will remain in place.

Read the article.