Patient Safety Research Unit, Royal Lancaster Infirmary, Ashton Road, Lancaster LA1 4RP, UK.
Int J Qual Health Care. 2011 Oct;23(5):590-9. doi: 10.1093/intqhc/mzr045. Epub 2011 Aug 8.
Wristbands are recommended in the UK as a means of verifying patient identity but have been little studied. We aimed to document how wristbands are used in practice.
and participants Task analysis of wristband application and use, drawing on qualitative analysis of workplace observation of, and interviews with, clinical and non-clinical staff.
Two acute district general hospitals in northern England.
Our findings indicate high levels of awareness amongst clinical staff of local and national policies on wristband use, but some ambiguity about the details therein. In contrast, non-clinical staff such as ward clerks and porters were less aware of policy, although their actions also expose patients to risks resulting from misidentification. Of seven subtasks identified by the task analysis of wristband application and use, three appeared to offer particular opportunity for error. Making the decision to apply, especially in emergency patients, is important because delay in application can delay correct identification. Advance preparation of wristbands for elective admission without the patient being present can risk erroneous data or misapplication. Lastly, utilization of wristbands to verify patient identity was greater in some clinical circumstances (blood transfusion and medication administration) than in others (before transferring patients around the hospital and during handovers of care).
Wristbands for patient identification are not being used to their full potential. Attention to detail in application and use, especially during handover and transfer, and an appreciation of the role played by 'non-clinical' staff, may offer further gains in patient safety.
腕带在英国被推荐作为验证患者身份的一种手段，但研究甚少。我们旨在记录腕带在实践中的使用情况。
参与者对腕带应用和使用进行任务分析，借鉴对临床和非临床工作人员的工作场所观察和访谈的定性分析。
英格兰北部的两家急症区综合医院。
我们的研究结果表明，临床工作人员对当地和国家腕带使用政策有很高的认识，但对政策细节存在一些模糊性。相比之下，非临床工作人员，如病房文员和搬运工，对政策的认识较少，但他们的行动也使患者面临因身份错误识别而带来的风险。在腕带应用和使用的任务分析中确定了七个子任务，其中三个似乎特别容易出错。做出应用的决定很重要，尤其是在急诊患者中，因为延迟应用会延迟正确识别。对于非急诊入院的患者，在患者不在场的情况下提前准备腕带可能会导致错误的数据或错误应用。最后，在某些临床情况下（输血和给药），腕带用于验证患者身份的频率高于其他情况（在医院内转移患者和交接护理时）。
患者识别腕带没有被充分利用。在交接和转移过程中，特别是在交接和转移过程中，要注意细节，并且要认识到“非临床”工作人员所扮演的角色，这可能会进一步提高患者的安全性。
