Avoidance of operative mix-ups: Unequivocal marking of the site of intervention

Patient identification of at the Stadthagen Eye Clinic

Treatment mix-ups are avoidable and represent a controllable risk. However, those affected by such mistakes often suffer substantial personal damage. Organisations for patient safety in Germany, Austria, Great Britain and Switzerland have tackled this topic in recent years and made first recommendations.

The Stadthagen Eye Clinic has been established for more than sixty years as a centre of excellence for ophthalmology on the outskirts of Hanover in Germany. The clinic boasts two state-of-the-art operating theatres in which approximately 3,500 patients from all over Germany are treated every year. The optimum service provided by the Stadthagen Eye Clinic is the result of interplay between experienced ophthalmic surgeons of long standing, highly-qualified care personnel and the latest standards of medical engineering and technical equipment. Furthermore, adherence to strict quality standards ensures the greatest possible level of patient safety.

Since the beginning of the year, the systematic measures adopted for patient and treatment safety also include wristband-supported identification for surgical procedures. In this respect, the Stadthagen Eye Clinic has followed the nationwide recommendation issued by the Aktionsbündnis Patientensicherheit e.V. (Patient Safety Action Alliance Society) for identifying patients and now identifies the point of surgical intervention with the aid of a patient wristband.

In selecting a suitable system, the clinic initially focussed on the feasibility of application for the clinic's own purposes. For example, the initiators attached importance to identifying a simple and up-to-date means of recording the point of surgical intervention on a wristband. Wristbands based on handwritten entries were out of the question, as were pre-printed ones which did not feature a medical-product licence and which could not be marked with individual data.

A decision was quickly made in favour of Armilla patient wristbands from Mediaform, which satisfied all requirements regarding durability of the printed image, simple handling and harmlessness in terms of allergiological and other health considerations. The system was integrated into clinic routine less than four weeks after first meetings with Mediaform. With the help of the printing programme supplied with the system, a patient wristband featuring details of the site of surgical intervention can quickly be issued using a separate small wristband printer.

Labelprofi Printing Software for Patient Wristbands

Using the LabelProfi ARMBAND software, you print out personalised patient wristbands quickly and securely. Apart from being printed with the patient's name, birth details and case number, the wristbands can also be printed with logos, serial numbers, including barcodes, and the name of the clinical facility.

>> Product details: Armilla STICK Patient Wristbands