The Visible Value Blog

Clinician access to accurate and up-to-date patient information is essential in today’s fast-paced healthcare environment. Proper planning is the key to success, so is the ability to communicate with peers on a moment’s notice, along with the ability to manage the ever-increasing array of alarms and alerts from patient monitoring devices. 

Patient identification techniques are becoming increasingly sophisticated, with 70% of hospitals stating that they use barcoded wristbands as one of their approaches to positive patient ID (PPID)[1]. Barcoding has improved the patient identification process in a number of ways, increasing staff efficiencies, patient safety and reducing the risk of misidentification.

TC51-HC Series

In a previous blog we discussed all of the aspects of clinical mobility that can improve staff productivity and increase patient safety.  Solutions such as point of care data capture, clinical collaboration, and workflow enablement are all part of clinical mobility but none of these opportunities can be met without the right device. That device is the TC51-HC.  This is a tough device that will last for years with a contemporary design that looks and feels like a consumer smartphone and enterprise class scanning and data capture features to boost productivity.  It supports the Android Marshmallow operating system, with support for the next two versions (“N” and “O”).  Enterprise features to keep data and devices secure.  Best-in-class power, battery life and manageability. 

Clinical mobility is the term used to describe the use of a variety of mobile devices and unified communication platform by physicians, nurses, midlevel practitioners, and other allied health professional as they deliver care to their patients.  Clinical mobility is synonymous and used interchangeably with the term point of care, and because it contributes to improved patient care responsiveness, clinical accuracy, and workflow efficiency when implemented effectively it is transformational to the entire patient care delivery process. Clinical Mobility enables better collaboration between clinical staff, improves the workflows of healthcare personnel, and increases patient safety by bringing identification to the point of care. 

As healthcare providers, your #1 priority is safe and effective patient care. But often, complex workflows, administrative demands and inaccurate information create barriers between caregivers and patients. Dealing with these problems can lower the standard of care—and that’s where Zebra can help. Connecting the right patient, to the right care, at the right time is critical. As is connecting providers to patient records, caregivers to colleagues, and patients to providers. Without a doubt, better connections lead to a better patient to caregiver experience. 

Barcodes have become a universal element on today’s goods and services, allowing quick data acquisition and management, as well as sophisticated tracking and recording. Thanks to their limitless capabilities and versatility, they can be deployed across numerous industries and offer measurable benefits.

It’s hardly a surprise then, that barcodes now play a critical role in one of the most precision-orientated industries: healthcare.

Over the last decade or so, retail has seen a revival of smaller stores and specialty shops – a trend driven by customers demanding a more personal experience. Any time you have an opportunity for an enhanced customer interaction, eventually lessons learned in one market carry over to another. Healthcare is no exception.

Just like they do when they’re in a store, customers – or, in this case, patients – are demanding a more personal level of care.  They expect a hospital they visit to have their health history, from doctor’s visits to prescriptions to known allergies to possible predisposed conditions.  They expect treatment in a timely and attentive manner – and they want that treatment to come with no complications or misdiagnosis. The heightened expectations of patients are so great that many hospitals are adding Chief Experience Officers to ensure a stellar patient experience. 

Barcode scanning at the patient bedside is crucial in preventing deadly errors in medication administration and specimen collection as part of an overall positive patient identification (PPID) solution. 

The moment an infant is born in a hospital, patient identity becomes a critical concern. From making sure the proper medications and treatments are administered to ensuring the right infant goes home with the right mother, there’s a definite need for positive patient identification (PPID) solutions. 

Positive patient ID (PPID) solutions allow healthcare facilities to improve the quality of patient care at every step in the healthcare process from admission to discharge. From helping to prevent medication administration errors to ensuring patient specimens are accurately tracked and processed from collection to the laboratory to results in a physician’s hands, PPID is a powerful tool for improving patient safety.