Computer Generated or Printed Wristbands
The Guidelines recommend that users of wristbands should work toward implementation of computer printed identifiers on wristbands by July 2009. The identifiers should be generated by the hospital demographic system.
Amba offers customers a number of possible ways to achieve this objective.
There are three basic methods of printing wristband data:
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Print computer-generated labels and affix the label to an appropriate band. If this method is used, additional security can be achieved by sealing the label under an appropriate cover on the band to protect its information.
An appropriate product for this method, available from Amba, would be Amba Precision Sentry Labelband, Product Ref 5080-11-PDM
This is probably the most simple and cost-effective method of achieving both computer printing and barcode capability as it requires little investment other than standard computer hardware, which may already exist in the systems structure of your site.
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Print continuous reel-fed wristbands using a thermal transfer or direct thermal printer.
Amba’s Compuband (Product Ref: 7041-11) would be appropriate for this method and will be compatible with most currently available thermal printers.
Thermal Transfer and Direct Thermal print technologies are compatible with this method and a large number of suitable printers are freely and commercially available. There are pros and cons of each method which can be explained by your Amba representative.
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Using a laser printer to print on appropriate A4 sheets which contain pre-formed labels and wristbands.
Example product available from Amba is the Datamate Laser Label (Product Code 9200-00-PDR).
Advice on specific requirements and benefits of each of these possibilities is available from Amba’s Customer Service team or by contacting your local Amba representative.
At present the NPSA is not suggesting that barcode, RFID or similar systems must be implemented by 2009, but clearly organisations implementing computer printed identifiers could use this as a good opportunity to implement data recognition solutions. Each of the methods mentioned above can incorporate a barcode into the printed data which may be scanned at appropriate points in the patient treatment process as required.
RFID is an advanced form of data capture and can be incorporated into wristbands. The advantage is that a much larger amount of data can be stored on a very small device including photographs. The downside is that the consumables, scanning and recording infrastructure is currently significantly more expensive. For more information, contact Amba’s Customer Service team or your local Amba/P3 representative.