Patient safety vs perceived savings

Medical errors are the eighth leading cause of mortality in the United States. The past decade, much has been written about how important patient identification is to preventing deaths. Unfortunately, many hospitals still base patient ID purchase decisions on short-term considerations such as initial cost and convenience, while losing sight of critical patient safety implications.

Thermal printed wristbands offer a prime example of this lost focus. The most common thermal ID products offer the apparent convenience of compact printers that print one wristband at a time. But all these wristbands suffer from the same issue, unprotected image areas that quickly degrade as vital patient data is exposed to common hospital liquids. And even though single wristband printing seems convenient and inexpensive, in reality chart labels are often needed during a patient's stay and must be printed separately slowing workflow and adding cost.

To address these issues, the world's leading laser wristband company, LaserBand, has leveraged over a decade of laser-wristband research and real world product usage to bring meaningful patient safety driven innovation to thermal wristbands. Their new FusionBand thermal wristbands feature a patented self-laminating design with a 100% film construction to form a water- and alcohol-resistant seal that protects vital patient data for the duration of the patient's stay. In fact, FusionBand recently scored 100% on readability and water resistance during an extensive trial at the Denver VA.

The FusionBand line features the world's first and only thermal wristband and chart label combination form. For the first time, hospital personnel can print a thermal wristband and several chart labels on the same form and in a single pass, improving workflow and reducing costs.

FusionBand products are the leading patient identification solution in the United Kingdom and other parts of Europe and will be widely-available in the US mid-year 2009.