According to research from the National Patient Safety Agency, up to 2,900 individuals a year receive the wrong kind of medical treatment simply because the hospital staff couldn’t read illegible patient information. Ensuring that the correct medical information is provided to hospital workers — and provided in a legible manner — can be the difference between life and death.
Having patients equipped with a branded plastic wrist band is a very common practice in hospitals across the nation in order to convey concise medical information about patients to the staff. Ensuring that these printed plastic wrist bands are both durable and easy to read can make a huge difference in the type of care a patient receives. Read on to learn more about purchasing medical alert wristbands.
Finding an Affordable, Reliable Supplier for Medical Id Wristbands:
- One of the major things to keep in mind when looking to order some kind of a branded plastic wrist band is the colors of those bands. More than 25 state hospital associations have released guidelines on patient wristband colors; these should be followed in order to provide a quick visual cue for hospital staff members to what medical ailment they are dealing with. For instance, the American Hospital Association uses three categories: red for allergies, yellow for a risk of falling and purple for do not resuscitate. You want to have these three colors at minimum.
- When ordering some kind of branded plastic wrist band for patients, you also want to keep legibility in mind. A standard font such as Times New Roman or Arial should be used, and the font size should be between 12 and 14 point for optimal readability. Make sure that the bracelets you buy will be able to meet this specifics.
- When looking to order wristbands for a hospital, your best bet is finding a supplier that deals with bulk orders and who can ship quickly. Try searching online for any companies or see if any other hospitals near you have any recommendations. The last thing you want is to get scammed and end up with a bunch of flimsy, useless wristbands.
- One other tip is to avoid “one size fits all” kind of wristbands. These types maay easily fall off small children or may not adequately fit larger adults. Adjustable wristbands are the way to go.
They may be small, but medical wristbands can have a huge influence on the type of medical care a patient receives and on their overall health.
Have you had any experiences trying to find durable, legible plastic wristbands? Tell us about it in the comments below!
