# How to Lock Patient Care Reports



## newtonfb19 (Oct 3, 2008)

Does anybody know where I can find a lockable box to store our patient care reports?  I need a box with a slit wide enough so that members can put the reports (standard 8 1/2" x 11" size) in once completed.  The box would hold the forms until the box is unlocked and they're placed in a more permanent storage area.

Thank you!


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## JPINFV (Oct 4, 2008)

locking mailbox?


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## MMiz (Oct 4, 2008)

You'll want to look at a locking mailbox.

This one is an example.


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## KEVD18 (Oct 4, 2008)

you can build one for very short money.


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## MMiz (Oct 4, 2008)

KEVD18 said:


> you can build one for very short money.


That's what we did.  I guarantee a local school shop class would love the project.


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## mikie (Oct 4, 2008)

KEVD18 said:


> you can build one for very short money.



That's what we did.  You just 'slipped it in the box.'  Had dual MasterKey locks.  Nice [polished] wood.


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## KEVD18 (Oct 4, 2008)

i dont think there would be enough interest a shop class as they probably only one of them.

it doesnt have to be pretty, just functional. ours was 3/4in ply with the sides and back being 16"x8" ish and the front being 14"x8"ish. theres your slot. nail on a bottom. cut the top to be 3/4in larger than the od of the box, put a hinge on it and a hasp in front. throw a coat of whatever left over paint the company or an employee has laying around and call it done. 

if it take you longer than 30min to build, you're over thinking it.


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## Sasha (Oct 4, 2008)

Wouldnt the slot just flop them all down there with no order, rhyme, or reason?

How messy!


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## JPINFV (Oct 4, 2008)

Yea... but there really isn't a choice unless you want to issue everyone a key or have select people with a key at station after every call/shift to file it. Both of those pretty much make the idea of a locked case for dropping off reports useless though.


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## KEVD18 (Oct 5, 2008)

we printed our truck check off sheets on a paper jacket. at the end of your shift, you put your paperwork in the jacket and put the package in the slot. one packet landed on top of the one before it etc.

then, i came along and threw the jacket out and sorted the calls by run number anyway, so the order in which they entered the box was irrelevant.

another company i worked for used envelopes with essentially the same process.

once company i worked for, all the did was go to home depot, buy a cheap locking toolbox, cut a whole big enough for the envelopes in the top and put a pad lock on it. done for less than 20 bucks. and this was one of the biggest ambulance companies in the country.....


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## Jon (Oct 5, 2008)

I've seen anything from a desk drawer or cabinet door retrofitted with a door with a slot in it, and a padlock, to a locking mailbox from the hardware store.

I've seen a larger plywood box, and that worked fine. If you need help, try the local high school/middle school shop folks.

I've also seen a high-end (Used) safe with a deposit slot big enough for paperwork. The station went to that after there were issues with paperwork "missing"... you couldn't mess with the safe. But that was WAY overkill.


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