Accurate Patient Identification in the Emergency Department: Meeting the Safety Challenges

Abstract

care, treatment, and services.” 1 Although this safety goal may appear to be straightforward to some people, it actually requires a series of steps that often are performed by different individuals. Any of these steps, if done incorrectly, can result in the misidentification of a patient. A 2-year study on patient misidentification with the use of identification (ID) wristbands performed by the College of American Pathologists demonstrated mean error rates in the range of 2.8% to 8.4%. 2 Another recent study demonstrated that although medical residents and nurses understand the importance of patient ID, they admittedly do not consistently perform required ID activities because of time pressure, confidence in their ability to informally identify patients, and the desire not to offend patients and undermine their trust. 3