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ADDRESS:
Patient Safety Authority
333 Market Street
Lobby Level
Harrisburg, PA 17120


Phone: 717-346-0469
Fax: 717-346-1090


  
Educational Tools 
Color-Coded Wristbands 
Color-Coded Wristbands 
The lack of consistency in wristband meanings and in how they are applied presents problems when patients are transferred among facilities and when patients are cared for by clinicians who work in multiple facilities. A group of healthcare organizations in northeastern and central Pennsylvania  started a grassroots effort, The Color of Safety Task Force, to meet the challenge of making this practice safer. The task force made an implementation manual and other resources available to the Patient Safety Authority.
 

 Educational Resources
Patient Safety: Color Banding: Standardization and Implementation Manual
This manual from the Color of Safety Task Force outlines implementation strategies for color-coded wristbands, including staff and patient education.
The Color of Safety: Reducing the Risks Associated with the Use of Colored Wrist Bands
This presentation can be used to educate staff and community members about risk reduction strategies pertinent to color-coded wristbands.
Banding Together for Patient Safety
This educational poster can be used or adapted to reinforce the relationships between the color-coded wristbands and their meanings in specific healthcare facilities.
Standardizing Colored Wrist Bands to Support Patient Safety
This brochure can be used to reinforce a healthcare facility's decision to participate in a patient safety initiative which is aimed at reducing the risks associated with the use of colored wristbands.
Use of Color-Coded Wristbands Creates Unnecessary Risk
This research poster identifies the risk of color-coded wristbands, the results of a usage survey conducted among Pennsylvania patient safety officers, and risk reduction strategies.

 Articles
Letter to the Editor: Color-Coded Patient Wristbands
Readers compliment work-to-date in Pennsylvania on color-coded wristbands, recommend consideration of isolation patients, and raise the question of nationwide standardization.
Update on Use of Color-Coded Patient Wristbands
The lack of consistency in wristband meanings and in how they are applied presents problems when patients are transferred among facilities and when patients are cared for by clinicians who work in multiple facilities.
Use of Color-Coded Patient Wristbands Creates Unnecessary Risk
The lack of consistency in wristband meanings and in how they are applied presents problems when patients are transferred among facilities and when patients are cared for by clinicians who work in multiple facilities.

 Companion Online Information
Dangerous Confusion with Color-Coded Wristbands
This video from FDA Patient Safety News discusses the risks of color-coded wristbands and some risk reduction strategies published in the Patient Safety Advisory.
 
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