Barcode Technology for Positive Patient Identification Prior to Transfusion

This article was published in the July/August issue of Patient Safety & Quality Healthcare

In today’s highly demanding clinical environment introducing a new technology is challenging under the best of circumstances. What if, right when roll-out is going well, an unrelated connectivity interruption leads nurses to conclude “this doesn’t work”? You will need to get the new initiative back on track—especially when it impacts improving patient safety. How do you meet your end-users’ needs, protect your hospital’s considerable investment, get the positive results leadership expects, and, most importantly, help improve patient safety and quality of care?

Saint Joseph’s Hospital of Atlanta in Atlanta, Georgia, (Saint Joseph’s) faced exactly this challenge, just days after go-live with a positive patient identification (PPID) software platform that had been carefully evaluated and selected to help improve blood transfusion safety. After the software platform and mobile barcode devices had been successfully installed throughout the hospital, modifications to the hospital’s wireless network caused significant connectivity issues for more than 10 weeks. Although not device-related, nurses perceived this problem as a product failure and were reluctant to change from their manual method of transfusion administration.

To read the full article please visit Patient Safety & Quality Healthcare