[Assessment of the implementation of an unambiguous patient identification system in an acute care hospital]. / Evaluación de la implantación de un sistema de identificación inequívoca de pacientes en un hospital de agudos.

OBJECTIVE: To achieve implantation of unequivocal identification of all admitted patients, to ensure the identification of patients with an individual bracelet integrated into the clinical record, and to involve health professionals in this process. MATERIAL AND METHODS: A working group was created, which analyzed the current situation in the hospital, selected materials, and designed the patient identification procedure and support material for patients and health professionals. After the system was implemented, coverage was assessed through direct observation. Implementation and satisfaction among patients and health professionals was evaluated through specifically designed questionnaires. RESULTS: Coverage was 79.4%. Most (82.8%) professionals knew why the identification bracelet was used and 57.8% thought it helped to avoid patient identification errors. Twenty percent used the bracelet data when administering medication, 29.2% when taking blood samples and 25.6% on entry to the operating room. Nearly all (88.3%) patients reported that the bracelet was not uncomfortable and 62.8% reported they received no information when the bracelet was placed. CONCLUSIONS: Acceptable coverage of the patient identification bracelets was achieved. However, the involvement of health professionals in the identification process was low, since the bracelets were not routinely used in established procedures and patients were only infrequently provided with information when the bracelets were placed.