Precision Dynamics – St. John Introduces New Conf-ID-ent Bar Code Blood Card System for Blood Transfusion ID

Precision Dynamics – St. John announced the release of its new Conf-ID-ent Bar Code Blood Card System, a blood recipient ID wristband system that provides automated patient identification for blood transfusion, specimen collection, and tracking.

Using bar coding technology, the Conf-ID-ent blood identification system meets the revised Elements of Performance (EP) as outlined in The Joint Commission’s National Patient Safety Goal for blood transfusions, NPSG.01.03.01, for a one-person verification process (versus two-person verification). The revised EP was released in September 2010 after The Joint Commission consulted healthcare and safety experts and literature to determine that automated identification technology contributes to patient safety.

The Conf-ID-ent Bar Code Blood Card is pre-printed with alpha-numeric serialization and bar codes to accurately match the right patient to the right blood. This improves patient safety by helping prevent identification related human errors that can occur during the blood transfusion process. It includes a form with one matching insert card for a blood band wristband, plus 18 matching bar code labels that can be used to identify draw tubes, patient chart, transfusion requisition, and as a secondary label on blood bags.

The Conf-ID-ent Bar Code Blood Card is sold in units of 250 cards or as a system with an option for inpatient or outpatient blood bands. Both the inpatient and outpatient blood bands provide a soft, latex-free, phthalate-free material that maximizes patient comfort and safety yet is also durable and strong to last throughout the patient’s stay. The outpatient style blood band features an insert pocket that is water-resistant to protect patient data for multiple days.

“Making the move to bar coding for transfusion patient identification has a tremendous impact on staff efficiency and the prevention of errors,” said Karen Joseph, marketing manager for Precision Dynamics-St. John. “For starters, hospitals using bar coding only need one-person verification instead of using valuable caregiver time to wait for another nurse to perform the two-person verification process required for the non-automated identification method. Plus, bar coding reduces paperwork and helps prevent human errors associated with handwritten information.”