How can patient identification in hospitals be improved to ensure safe care?

In a busy hospital environment, patient identification errors can occur. These errors, sometimes caused by similar names or medical conditions, can have serious consequences, ranging from incorrect treatments to delays in care. These situations can be avoided with the right tools and practices.

Incorrect identification can lead to errors in medical records, loss of valuable staff time, costs for hospitals and, above all, potentially irreversible damage to patients. Here are four essential ways to reduce these risks and optimise hospital operations.

1. Use two identifiers for each patient

One of the most important steps is to use at least two identifiers for each patient interaction. These identifiers may include name, date of birth, address or a medical identification number. However, it is not advisable to use temporary features such as room numbers.

Critical moments, such as patient registration or transmission of records during examinations, represent major risks of error. Strict application of this method minimises these risks and increases the reliability of the processes.

2. Improve patient identification wristbands

Identification wristbands play a key role in reducing errors. Today, hospitals are investing in integrated technological solutions, such as wristbands with barcodes linked to electronic medical records.

Our identification wristband solutions are designed to meet the specific needs of healthcare establishments, offering reliability, comfort and security.

For fast, efficient printing, our thermal and laser-printed wristbands guarantee clear, durable identification, perfectly suited to hospital requirements. Wristbands with adhesive protection provide enhanced security by preventing the information from being altered. For greater traceability, card-insertion wristbands can be used to add additional data. Finally, direct-registration wristbands offer fast, flexible customisation, which simplifies management.

We also offer specific solutions such as mother-infant wristbands, designed to ensure a secure link between the mother and the newborn baby, and blood wristbands, essential for rigorous identification of patients receiving transfusions. Our alert wristbands can be used to signal medical risks or allergies, while short-stay wristbands offer a practical, economical alternative for short-term admissions.

Discover our complete range and find the wristband that's right for you!

3. Integrate RFID solutions for contactless, real-time identification

RFID (Radio Frequency Identification) technologies represent a significant advance in patient identification in hospitals. Unlike barcodes, which require direct visual contact to be scanned, RFID labels and wristbands enable instant, contactless reading. This technology reduces errors by minimising the risks associated with illegible barcodes or incorrect manual entries, while improving the efficiency of care.

RFID solutions offer several major advantages: they enable fast, automatic identification in real time, without the need to manually scan each wristband. This optimises both patient flow management, accurately tracking their movements within the hospital, and organisation of care. In addition, Nordic ID RFID readers and antennas offer exceptional performance for fast, reliable reading. They are specifically designed to integrate seamlessly into existing hospital systems, facilitating information management and ensuring safe care.

These solutions enhance security, with controlled access to medical records and greater traceability of medical procedures. This level of security guarantees more reliable and safer patient care, while improving coordination of care between the hospital's different departments.

Our Nordic ID RFID readers, designed to be robust and suitable for hospital environments, offer smooth, long-range reading, enabling instant capture of RFID wristband information and automated patient data collection. These comprehensive solutions ensure reliable identification, real-time monitoring and optimised patient flow management.

4. Implement standardised protocols

Introducing standardised protocols in hospitals is essential to guarantee the quality and safety of care, reduce medical errors and ensure consistent patient care. These protocols also make it possible to optimise resources, facilitate staff training and improve coordination between teams. Their development is based on scientific recommendations, involving healthcare professionals to ensure they are relevant and applicable. Once they have been defined, they need to be accompanied by training, tested on a pilot service and then evaluated regularly to guarantee their effectiveness and adaptation to medical developments.

Improve safety through innovative solutions

Patient identification is crucial to safe care and hospital efficiency. While no single solution can eliminate errors entirely, a combined approach - incorporating technology, training and standardised protocols - can transform the way hospitals manage this fundamental aspect.

Talk to our PDC experts today to find out how our solutions can help your organisation improve patient identification and ensure safe care.