A health center in Tucumán in northwestern Argentina has implemented a new patient identification system using a wristband that will eventually contain a link to the patient's medical record.
Every patient admitted to the Zenón Santillán Health Center in Tucumán will receive a bracelet with their name, surname and ID card number. The system includes an ID reader, fingerprint and webcam. Through the webcam at the time of admission, the patient will be registered in the hospital's internal management system.
"This will allow us to have the patient identified at any moment. For example, if anesthesia is administered, the patient is asleep, we need to know who they are and if the procedure is being performed correctly on the person in question. Or if a patient is on a respirator, now especially because of the COVID, it is also very important to know who it is," explained María Marta Vargas, deputy medical director of the hospital.
This system is expected to begin operating during the first weeks of July. "The idea is to begin the identification process of the patients through a bracelet that will be put on all those who are admitted to the hospital. This will include the patient's name, surname and ID number. This system is part of one of the objectives of the World Health Organization (WHO) for patient safety, in order to achieve correct identification of those who are treated in the institution," said Vargas.
The bracelet will be printed when the patient is admitted to the hospital to keep them identified; however, this system will be improved at a later date, such as the addition of a code that links to each patient's medical history.
