Multiple wrist bands

[cgSN2010]

The hospital I am doing clinicals at just instituted the new wristband policy in which there are different colored wrist bands for fall risk, limb restriction, allergies, along with the normal wrist band stating name and so on. There are also stickers that indicate DNR that can be placed on the wrist bands. Are any other hospitals doing this? What are your thoughts?

[onetiredmomma]

Yep, drives me nuts! I feel for the pts that have multiple ones on, they are always getting pushed up and stuck on their arms. Ours are part of a universal band program that was implemented so if a pt got transferred from one facility to another the band colors would be the same. It is a good idea, just seems there oughta be a way to not have to have so many!

[Emergency RN]

It's rather silly as the absence of a particular band could simply mean that someone forgot to put one on, rather than a patient really being without allergies or is not a fall risk. I agree with respondent Onetiredmomma, there needs to be a universal banding with a standard set of information. There can also be a space for the particular facility name.

Frankly, this goes to show how a nationalized or universal medical record database would be a boon to care. However, privacy concerns would probably stop that from ever happening.

[elkpark]

We have that system, and I'm not sure how much good it does. I always joke with the clients (this is in an inpatient psych facility) that it looks like Mardi Gras, everyone's wearing a whole armful of brightly colored bands.

[skipaway]

My issue with those bands is that they're always in the way when I need to start IVs. As a CRNA it drives me nuts. I'll get my scissors out and cut them all off, except the blood bracelet and the pt's real hospital id band. Then I carry the cut off ones with me until I get to PACU: where I then hand them to a PACU nurse and tell her to get replacements b/c the OR doesn't have them. The PACU nurses are very understanding and don't give much grief when they get the handful of bands from me.

[cgSN2010]

I agree the idea behind them seems good however they are a pain. Often they will slip inside eachother and the pt. ends up having 2 of the same band since one was "missing". I am not sure why one band with differnt colored stickers wouldn't work. The limb restiction band is one of the more helpful bands.

[elkpark]

Also, we use a computerized "scanning" system for giving meds and I find that, invariably, when I'm giving meds and need to scan the client's "real" armband, it is stuck under the colored armbands and I seem to spend half my med-giving time trying to wriggle the ID band out from under the colored ones.

[casi, ASN, RN]

In my area several of the major hospital chains have agreed on a universal band program. It's horrific. One patient can have up to 6 bands on them.

The limb restriction bands would be awesome, except the idea is someone will see the band on the patient and go check to see what limb is restricted, we aren't supposed to put them on the restricted limb.

[csiyaoe]

at are hospital we have wrist bands that print out of the printer and just tape around the wrist.

Why not just have the color code for certain things like a patient having an DNR would be red and the printer just prints a red dot by the persons name on the wrist band.

If anything changes about the patient's status, just cut the old band off and print out an updated one.

[cherrybreeze, ADN, RN]

Unfortunately, we don't have color printers, and even if we did, the wristbands don't print up, just the labels do, and we use them to make an ID band. There isn't enough room on the ID band to add any type of colored stickers, either. I can't see all of our units making a change to color printers, would cost way too much in ink (some of the things we print would be colored, if the option was there, and they'd never go for paying for colored ink).

[Tait, MSN, RN]

When codes happen, speed is key. I fully support the colored armbands.

Of course there is always the issue of "they didn't put ____ on her" however this should be part of any initial admission.

We have gone to what is apparently going to be some form of a national standard in armband colors.

Red: Allergy

Yellow: Fall

Green: Latex

Purple: DNR

The bands no longer have glue on them, but are 1/2 wide, with the little "belt loop" sort of idea with a plastic lock. I have had many less complaints with these than the old paper tape ones that got wet and sticky after a day or two.

Tait

[K+MgSO4, BSN]

the hospital I work at implemented a risk assessment sheet which is kept in the bedside chart. If you tick any of the "red" boxes they get a red band--------life threatening allergy, falls risk, aggression risk, infectious disease risk, police custody etc. Theatres have a big issue with it cause if you have someone in police custody or a high falls risk as worked out by ANOTHER form they get a red name band and the reception nurses get all shirty about it because they don't have a drug allergy but the ward is just following policy. It is better than the half dozen that they had before now it is a red or clear bracelet with a addressograph stuck inside it instead of clear plus red with allergies on it orange for falls green for anything else infection, flight aggression risk et