Patient identification policy
In 2008, the Australian Health Ministers endorsed the Australian Commission on Safety and Quality in Health Care’s Specifications for a standard patient identification band. The following principles, outlined in the Commission’s specifications, have guided the development of the WA Patient Identification Policy.
- All inpatients, emergency department patients and day procedure patients must be correctly identified at the time of admission and throughout their hospital stay.
- Wherever possible, inpatients should wear some form of patient identification, and health care providers should have guidelines in place that guides this identification process.
- The primary purpose of an identification band or other identification mechanism is to identify the patient wearing the band. The use of identification bands to signify clinical alerts is secondary.
- Hospitals/health services will need to determine how they meet the specifications for identification bands at a local level.