Aims and objectives
In spite of process standardization and prudent adherence to standard operating procedures,
patient misidentification still remains an important issue in any field of public health care worldwide [1].
Patient misidentification in radiology,
especially in imaging modalities using ionizing radiation,
can on the one hand potentially misdiagnose a life-threatening disease [1,2] and on the other hand lead to substantial radiation exposure.
Therefore,
the Swiss Federal Office of Public Health recently enacted a regulation,
making it mandatory for all radiology departments to report unintended radiation exposure and...
Methods and materials
In a collaborative project with an industrial partner we designed an innovative solution based on wristbands and a dedicated server/software infrastructure in a computed tomography setting.
Every patient who is treated or examined either on the ward or the emergency department wears an identification wristband,
which contains the personal data and the specific case number.
To register a patient for a CT study,
the case number on the patient’s wristband needs to be scanned prior to the examination.
However,
the specific case numbermust be delivered...
Results
Within the framework of a pilot project we implemented an innovative server and software infrastructure,
which redundantize manual selection of the patient’s data.
After scanning the patient’s wristband and transmitting the case number to the control panel,
the patient is automatically displayed in the system and unblocked for image registration.
Using dedicated servers the CT images are automatically assigned to the correct patient,
eliminating wrong patient and wrong examination errors.
Conclusion
With our nationwide first solution using patient identification wristbands and dedicated server/software infrastructure we can enhance the accuracy of patient registration and contribute to more safe and effective diagnostic and therapeutic services [4].
Personal information
Dr.
Alexander Lutoschkin,
MD
Cantonal Hospital Baden,
Institute of Radiology,
Switzerland
Im Ergel 1
5404 Baden
Switzerland
Phone: +41 56 486 38 39
E-Mail:
[email protected]
References
1.
Dhatt GS et al.; Patient safety: patient identification wristband errors.; Clin Chem Lab Med.
2011 May;49(5):927-9
2.
Rubio EI et al.; Time-Out: It's Radiology's Turn--Incidence of Wrong-Patient or Wrong-Study Errors; AJR Am J Roentgenol.
2015 Nov;205(5):941-6
3.
Strahlenschutzverordnung (StSV) 814.501 Stand 05.06.2018,
4.
Kapitel 8.
Abschnitt Artikel 50
4.
Gray JE et al.; Patient misidentification in the neonatal intensive care unit: quantification of risk. Pediatrics.
2006 Jan;117(1):e43-7