Colored Wristband Standardization

1. Colored Wristband Standardization Ohio Patient Safety Institute 2007 Ohio Patient Safety Institute

2. Why should we look at standardizing wrist band colors? • Pennsylvania Near Miss • Mini survey • Ohio regulatory requirement for DNR • Practitioners practice at multiple surgical/ procedural settings • Increased use of “community” bands Ohio Patient Safety Institute

3. Ohio Emergency Code Color Schema Ohio Patient Safety Institute

4. Crosswalk of color use Ohio Patient Safety Institute

5. Top Wristband Uses Ohio Patient Safety Institute

6. Vision Reduce reliance or eliminate the use of wristbands (except patient id), but in the interim standardize and decrease the number of wristband colors with embossed message Ohio Patient Safety Institute

7. OPSI Recommendation Ohio Patient Safety Institute

8. Pt. ID Patient Identification The white or clear with white insert patient identification wristband in all settings are applied in accordance with procedures outlined in organizational policy on patient identification and registration.

9. It is recommended that healthcare organizations adopt REDfor ALLERGY alert with the word “Allergy” embossed/printed on it By adopting red for allergy alert, the standardization can be easily achieved since 2 out of 3 Ohio organizations already use RED for allergy alert ALLERGY Red for Allergy

10. It is recommended that healthcare organizations adopt Yellowfor FALL RISK with the word “Fall Risk” embossed/printed on it Falls account for more than 70% of the total injury related health costs among people 60 years of age and older Fall Risk Yellow for Fall Risk

11. It is recommended that healthcare organizations adopt Greenfor Blood The risk of error due to misidentification at the bedside is recognized as one of the prime causes of incorrect transfusion Blood Green for Blood

12. Community Bands While healthcare supports the community (charity or fashion) wristbands they can be confused with the alert message a colored wristband in the Healthcare setting

13. Resources • OPSI website – www.ohiopatientsafety.org • Posters • Tool Kit Ohio Patient Safety Institute

14. Questions?