Hospitals like Lancaster General (LGH) have long used color-coded wrist bands as a way for medical staff to quickly recognize a patient’s specific conditions.

 

However, the color used for, say, an allergic condition at one hospital wasn’t always the same at another. That created the potential for problems, particularly among staff that may have worked recently at another hospital with a different color scheme.

 

To alleviate that risk, Lancaster General is adopting new, pre-printed, color-coded alert wristbands as part of a statewide patient safety initiative.

 

“LGH is among a growing number of Pennsylvania hospitals recognizing the importance of uniformity when communicating important clinical information
through a wristband,” says Melody Dillman, MSN, RN, Performance Improvement Coordinator at Lancaster General. “We do not want to jeopardize the safety of our patients through a misunderstanding with the color and meaning of a wristband.”

 

The new initiative grew out of an incident that occurred at another hospital in 2005, when a nurse who had worked at more than one Pennsylvania hospital placed a yellow arm band on her patient, thinking the wristband represented limb restriction, alerting medical staff of potential swelling in an extremity.

 

However, yellow at that particular hospital was used to identify a “Do Not Resuscitate” patient. That patient suffered a cardiopulmonary event, but fortunately was resuscitated when the error was recognized in time.

 

This close call prompted a warning to hospitals from the Pennsylvania Patient Safety Reporting System (PA-PSRS) about potential safety risks associated with the use of color-coded wristbands.

 

As a result of this advisory statement, 13 Pennsylvania hospitals joined together to create the Color of Safety Task Force. This task force identified five primary clinical conditions and assigned corresponding colors and established standards that were recognized at the State Capitol in June.

 

On Oct. 20 Lancaster General adopted the following color-coded bands, which represent the following conditions:

 

 

“Colored alert wristbands only serve as a visual cue,” Melody says. “Staff should always review the patient’s medical record to verify that the wristband reflects the patient’s current medical condition and update the medical record accordingly.”

 

The only LGH-approved color-coded wristbands are those listed above, with the exception of non-emergency wristbands for admission, red blood bank wristbands and yellow and whitestriped outpatient wristbands.

 

Colored wristbands will be applied or removed only by the nurse or designated medical staff member who conducts the patient assessment. Colored alert wristbands from other facilities or colored charity bracelets will be removed upon a patient’s arrival at Lancaster General to avoid confusion.