Hospitals and other healthcare providers have to comply by new Electronic Health Record (HER) regulations that are being put in place across the nation. This type of technology automates and streamlines the workflow of clinicians so information can be accessed anytime. Additionally, EHR puts in place security measures to protect patients when they are at a facility during treatment. One of the ways this is accomplished is through adult and infant wristbands with RFID technology printed on the band when the patient is admitted into the facility. LaserBand is a worldwide leader in patient identification wristband and products related to identification technology. Its acquisition by Zebra Technologies Corporation brings together the two companies with an extensive portfolio of marking and printing technologies with RFID and real-time location solutions for the healthcare and other industries.
LaserBand has a patented self-laminating design for their wristbands that protects the patient’s information. The system works with all existing patient ID technologies with several different solutions including handwriting, embossing and barcoding using laser printing or thermal imaging. It can be made to order to provide facility specific solutions for each organization.
One of the leading causes of death worldwide is medical error due to misidentification of diagnosis and treatments. A report by the Institute of Medicine concluded that death caused by medical error ranks eighth for Americans, which is more than AIDS, breast cancer and motor vehicle accidents. Properly identifying a patient dramatically reduces the risk of these types of mistakes saving costly expenses due to malpractice suits. Using the wristbands with RFID tags in nurseries also reduces the potential of new infants being taken out of the facility without permission.
"With the increasing focus on improving patient safety and hospital workflow, Zebra's innovative products and solutions enable healthcare organizations to more easily track people, assets and information. As a leader in patient identification, LaserBand is an excellent fit as we expand our dedicated healthcare offerings," said Anders Gustafsson, CEO of Zebra.
The LaserBand wristband is a preferred patient identification solution holding twice as many identification wristband patents as all of its competitors combined. It is used in thousands of hospitals around the world on millions of patients every single day. A wristband identification system in a healthcare facility can streamline patient intake and ensure positive patient identification and location.
Edited by
Brooke Neuman
