How Bar Coding New Moms Helps Improve Safety in the Maternity Ward
Image Source: Creative Commons Flickr/miss pupik
As many people are aware, the amount of misdiagnoses, patient errors or even baby swaps in hospitals has been steadily increasing over the past few years. That is why more and more maternity wards are implementing the use of bar coded wristbands for babies as well as their mothers. Not only will this ensure that babies are handed to the correct mother, it will also prevent them from receiving the incorrect medication or dose.
Matching Mothers to the Correct Infants
By using patient bar coded wristbands on mothers as well as babies, it helps nursing staff to determine whether their tiny charge is in fact being cared for by its biological mother. Once an expectant mother checks into hospital to give birth, she is fitted with a bar coded wrist band which accesses all of her medical information to hospital staff with the simple click of a barcode scanner. Upon the mother giving birth, the infant is immediately fitted with a comfortable wrist band which has the mothers information embedded into the barcode. By using these bar coded wristbands right after delivery, it ensures that no accidental switching of infants can occur accidentally while mother and baby are in hospital.
No Room for Accidental Identification or Medical Errors
Once the use of bar coded wristbands for mothers is successfully implemented in maternity wards, it offers the mother peace of mind and reassurance that her baby will be getting the correct medical care while also knowing that the baby she leaves the hospital with is in fact the correct baby. While in hospital, nursing staff are required to scan the patient bar coded wristbands prior to administering any treatment to the mother or infant, which offers an additional level of safety as far as health is concerned. By scanning these wrist bands, it ensures that no errors can occur as a result of poor handwriting, as was previously the case with manually-written wrist bands and other hospital record files.
Handy, Efficient and Affordable Technology
By using patient bar coded wristbands on mothers as well as babies in hospitals, it also simplifies the process of getting the correct lab test results back, doing possible emergency surgery or even ensuring that their babies receive the right breast milk (in the case of mothers who have to express milk for any reason.
When it comes to patient safety in hospitals, more and more of them are becoming aware of just how important it is to ensure the safety of every single patient who is in their care, right down to the very smallest and most vulnerable ones. If your hospital has not implemented this system in their maternity ward, it may be up to you as the expectant mother to find a hospital that does.