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OPSI Helps Hospitals ‘Band’ Together for Safety
COLUMBUS—Nurses and doctors often make split-second decisions to save a patient’s life. What if something as simple and preventable as the wrong color wristband jeopardized their ability to do just that? Ohio’s hospitals, physicians, nurses and others are banding together to stop this potential error in its tracks.
Hospitals and health care providers across the country received a wake up call in 2005 when a nurse in Pennsylvania incorrectly placed a yellow “do not resuscitate” (DNR) wristband on a patient who later had a heart attack. Fortunately, another nurse caught the mistake just in time to resuscitate the patient.
The case focused national attention on a common problem. Many doctors, nurses and other practitioners work in more than one facility, each with their own set of wristband colors. In the Pennsylvania case, the nurse intended to use a yellow band to alert staff not to use that arm to draw blood—the correct meaning of a yellow wristband in a nearby facility where the nurse also worked.
In light of this near miss, the Ohio Patient Safety Institute (OPSI) convened a task force to implement a statewide standardization of colored wristbands yet this year for Ohio hospitals, nursing homes, ambulatory facilities, home health and hospice—providing much needed consistency.
In Ohio, health care providers are currently using 19 different colors with 28 different meanings, according to a survey of Ohio hospitals, home health agencies, nursing homes and ambulatory surgical centers conducted in November 2006 by the task force.
The statewide standardization of colored wristbands reduces the colors down to four, with the ultimate goal of eliminating wristbands altogether in favor of electronic tracking systems. In the interim, OPSI recommends that all Ohio health care providers adopt the following standard wristbands:
OPSI is working with health care providers across the state to help them implement the new statewide standard beginning Sept. 1, 2007.
Because the state-mandated wristband color for DNR—white with the DNR logo—is undergoing review, the OPSI task force is not making a recommendation for DNR at this time.
The statewide wristband standardization is endorsed by the Ohio Patient Safety Institute, Ohio Hospital Association, Ohio State Medical Association, Ohio Osteopathic Association and Ohio Board of Nursing, Ohio Academy of Nursing Homes and Association of Ohio Philanthropic Homes, Housing and Services for the Aging.
The Ohio Patient Safety Institute is a subsidiary of the Ohio Health Council, founded by the Ohio Hospital Association, the Ohio State Medical Association, and the Ohio Osteopathic Association. Through this collaboration and common effort, OPSI has the ability to work with over 170 hospitals and 9,000 physicians in Ohio to improve patient safety for all Ohioans. Visit OPSI at www.ohiopatientsafety.org/.
The Ohio Hospital Association was established in 1915 and currently represents 170 hospitals and 40 health systems throughout Ohio. OHA is a membership-driven organization that provides proactive leadership to create an environment in which Ohio hospitals are successful in serving their communities. Visit OHA at www.ohanet.org.
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