Content area
Full Text
PATIENT
SAFETY FIRST
Standardizing Wristband Colors
DONNA S. WATSON, RN, MSN, CNOR, ARNP-BC
Arecent near miss incident reported by a hospital to the Pennsylvania Patient Safety Reporting System involved a patient with a restricted extremity. The nurse mistakenly placed a yellow wristband on the patient to signal restricted extremity based on the color-coding system at a different facility at which the nurse was also employed. Yellow wristbands at the facility to which the patient had been admitted, however, indicated do not resuscitate. The meaning of the yellow wristband was therefore misunderstood by other personnel.1 The patient had a cardio -pulmonary arrest and, as a result of the color of his wristband, was nearly not resuscitated. Fortunately, the mistake was recognized and the patient was resuscitated.
In another incident, a patient with a green wristband, which indicated latex allergy at one facility, was transferred to a different facility. At the receiving facility, the wristband was not removed but the green color code had no meaning to the staff members. As a result, the patient was exposed to latex-containing devices that resulted in a preventable anaphylactic reaction.2
COLOR-CODED WRISTBANDS
In addition to wristbands used for patient identification, color-coded wrist-bands are used in nearly every hospital facility across the United States to communicate some type of clinical information or risk factor, such as allergy, fall risk, latex allergy, do not resuscitate, or restricted extremity. The problem is that in many states, there is no consistency
in the correlation between the color and the clinical information or risk factor that is being communicated.
In a survey conducted by the New Jersey Hospital Association to identify the different colors and intended communication of risk factor in acute care settings, results showed that 10 different colors were being used for 19 different associated risk factors.3 Furthermore, redwristbands often wereused to indicate high riskand could denote any oneof the following depending on the facility:
nuclear medication test,
blood bank identification, allergy,
blood type,
tape allergy,
restricted extremity,
fall risk, and
do not resuscitate.
A MOVEMENT TO STANDARDIZE
Several organizations and statewide initiatives are moving toward standardization of color-coded wristbands. For example, the American Hospital Association (AHA) advocates that standardizing colors of wristbands is a sensible approach to patient safety.4 The AHA recommends...