Posted on 01/02/2008 10:04:40 AM PST by Ben Mugged
Methods to identify a patient with a Do Not Resuscitate (DNR) order are incredibly varied across hospitals, ranging from written documentation practices to the use of color-coded wristbands. According to a new study in the Journal of Hospital Medicine, a national effort to standardize color-coded wristbands, likely around a few specific indications (e.g., DNR status, allergy, fall risk, etc.), would remove current practice variations and the associated potential for errors.
There are currently no standards of color choice for hospitals using color-coded wristbands, and each hospital has a different set of colors for different indications. This lack of standardization creates the potential for errors. For example, some hospitals have used yellow to signify Do Not Resuscitate, leading to several near-misses with patients wearing yellow Lance Armstrong Livestrong bracelets. If a standard color choice existed for DNR orders, the potential for errors with either personal patient wristbands or those used by hospitals would be averted.
(Excerpt) Read more at sciencedaily.com ...
Do they really get in your way?
I'm a 17-year cancer survivor and run a men's cancer support group at church. I'm not taking my bracelet off.
Whack away.
yep, I had no idea either!! (not specifically yours, just in general)
I ordered a silicon bracelet in salmon color. Had it embossed with:
“Salmon - The OTHER pink meat!”
My wife hates it....
If you are in a car wreck and arrive unconscious, you may not be able to remove the braclet while entering a hospital. The hospital should err on the side of caution.
If someone is going to have a DNR, it should be etched onto a metal medical bracelet like ANYONE ELSE with medical information on person.
They shouldn’t designate a crips/bloods kind of color coding for whether anyone at all will be denied medical attention in an emergency.
If someone is going to have a DNR, it should be etched onto a metal medical bracelet like ANYONE ELSE with medical information on person.
I agree with what you are saying, but you are talking about something different than what the article is talking about.
The article is talking about wristbands put on patients by the hospital. They are using color coded wristbands to give the staff a way to quickly tell if a patient in their care as a DNR order in effect.
Metal medical bracelets are durable, but there are a lot of situations in a hospital where you will be required to remove all metal jewelry. A metal bracelet is appropriate for wearing when going about your daily life, but not so appropriate while in the hospital. The information on the bracelet needs to get transferred to the patient's chart when the patient gets admitted, because the patient may not be able to wear the bracelet the entire time they are there.
They shouldnt designate a crips/bloods kind of color coding for whether anyone at all will be denied medical attention in an emergency.
They problem is confusion between bracelets put on patients at different hospitals when they are transferred, or bracelets that were not removed when the patient was admitted, or the patient put on later.
While I suspect that the law varies from state to state, I also suspect that something engraved on a medical bracelet isn't going to be considered a legally binding DNR in any case. Not really enough room for the proper text and signatures.
A DNR is typically something that you have your Doctor put in your medical file, and you can submit to hospitals to keep on file. Some people with terminal illnesses carry such documents with them and make sure people they are around know of the existence of such documents to prevent EMTs or good samaritans from resuscitating them, but I don't think a simple medical alert bracelet is going to be accepted as binding.
Are you the “kissing bandit”?
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