This Just In...
Kevin Fischer is an award-winning veteran broadcaster who has been seen and heard on Milwaukee TV and radio stations for nearly three decades.
Kevin, who is a legislative aide to state Sen. Mary Lazich (R-New Berlin), can be seen offering his views on the news on the public affairs program, “INTERchange,” on Milwaukee Public Television Channel 10. He lives with his wife, Jennifer, in Franklin.
A common sense, life-saving measure
By Kevin Fischer
Thursday, Aug 28 2008, 07:50 PM
This is a great idea.
The Wisconsin Hospital Association (WHA) wants every hospital in the state to implement standardized color-code alerts for patients by March 1, 2009. The key is that colors used must be the same in every hospital.
About a dozen states already use standardized colors on wristbands and stickers that automatically inform medical personnel about patients’ conditions, such as allergies or the risk of falling. A number of Wisconsin hospital use color codes, but the colors vary from hospital to hospital. The WHA wants to standardize the colors used so health care professionals don’t have to memorize the colors for each hospital.
Standardized colors chosen for alerts in Wisconsin are:
• White or Clear for Patient Identification
• Purple for DNR
• Red for Allergy
• Yellow for Fall Risk
The WHA reports the concept of alert colors was first raised by the Pennsylvania Patient Safety Authority after a near tragic episode. The WHA says, “A clinician nearly failed to rescue a patient due to an incorrect ‘DNR’ designation. The source of confusion started when a nurse had placed a yellow alert on the patient. In this hospital, the color yellow signified that the patient was a DNR. In a nearby hospital, where this nurse also worked, yellow signified ‘restricted extremity’ meaning that this arm is not to be used for drawing blood or obtaining IV access. Fortunately, the mistake was identified and the patient was resuscitated.”
Here are more details from the WHA and more background on the issue from Risk and Insurance.
