16th February 2007 - Hospitals Wi-Fi Tracking Wristbands

Hospital Patients Wearing High Tech Wristbands

In a scheme at Birmingham Heartlands Hospital, day case surgery patients carry their personal data on electronic tags embedded into wristbands.

On arrival, they have a digital photo taken and that, plus the details of the care they need, are loaded on to an electronic tag contained in a wristband they can wear throughout their stay.  The tags mean any member of staff caring for that patient can read the tag details using a PDA to check they are treating the right person. They can also see what checks the patient has had, or if they are ready for surgery, to ensure they get the right drugs, tests and operations via the checklist on the PDA.

Schemes such as this, which tag patients, and bar-coding drugs and hospital equipment, are being seen in a number of UK hospitals.

Health minister Lord Hunt said: "There is evidence of real improvements to patient safety when coding systems are used to match patients to their care - fewer medication errors, a reduced risk of wrong-site surgery, a more accurate track and trace of surgical instruments, equipment and other devices, and much better record-keeping."

For more information visit: 
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/health/6358697.stm