5 Positive Outcomes from Using Bar Coded Wrist Bands
While ID cards were once a familiar sight in hospitals, technology has moved on, developing better methods for identifying and protecting patients. Bar coded wrist bands have revolutionized the patient identification market, thanks to their many benefits.
Ease of Use
Gone are the days of patients and hospital staff fiddling about with clips in order to attach ID cards to uniforms or gowns. As the name suggests, a wrist band can be easily secured around the wrist. Even the process of preparing a hospital wrist band is easy. Instead of having to laminate an ID card after printing it out, just print out the wrist band and wear it as it is. It is therefore now both easier and faster to tag a patient with ID than it has been previously.
Compatibility
With more medical facilities moving towards electronic systems of administration, it makes sense to start using bar coded wrist bands. Bar coding is compatible and consistent with the digitization of administrative records and practices. For example, when administering medication, health care professionals can scan the wrist band to make a record of the round of medication and also to get any relevant information on the patient
Retail and commercial use of bar codes is at least 20 years old. Five years (or more) ago, Walmart required their vendors to use RadioFrequencyID tags( (RFID tags).
Bar coded wrist bands, medications, and IV fluids now still use (and are just being initiated) in 21st century medicine…
Medicine continues to lag private industry in technology introduction and use. In the 1990’s our multi-specialty group couldn’t find a patient’s lab report (blood sent over 30 days prior to a reference lab). Patient owned a Dodge automobile dealership.
His comment (paraphrased), “Doc, I can locate a right front brake part for a 1970’s Dodge within 24 hours. Why can’t you find my lab report?”
Stop Bar codes, start RFID tags:
1) Passive scanning (no need to perform a scan on patients’ wrist bands. Reality: Bar code scanning takes time-often requires several scans to obtain results.
2) RFID use for all hospital personnel provides several advantages: Audit trail for access to patient rooms, Location of employees, audit logs for hourly staff (no need to sign in/out).
3) Passive alarm when incorrect medications entering each patient room.
4) Faster access to “Pixus” medication.
5) More accurate use of medications, etc. for each patient.
6) OR uses-audit trail of all in OR, matching of patient with surgeon,
pathology location, ability to match surgeon and other OR staff
with their preferred instrument trays, and patient allergies, PMH, etc.
displayed on OR Video screen (facilitates OR check lists and pre-op
briefing of OR team pre-op.
Problems starting RFID tags:
1) Capital costs for hardware, software, and installation costs.
2) Training costs.
3) Finding approved vendors; possible requirements for safety trials, financial
studies, other unanticipated problems (?Phase I, II, III, and IV (post-
marketing trials)), and meeting FDA 10 K requirements.
Thoughts-
1) Each health care organization begin trials, initially with personnel RFID tags-
already in use in industry.
2) Apply for funding for Phase I trials, starting with small units in each organization.
3) Medicine should start evaluating, if not advancing, technology use and stop installing
outdated technology.
Ken