3rd Seminar. Design and implementation of a protocol on users’ unequivocal identification in primary care

The topic of the unequivocal identification of patients was also present at the Seminar, through this presentation of the Guadalquivir Sanitary District, Córdoba. The authors are Hervás Vargas, A. and Gutierrez Sequera, J.L., who summarize their work thus:

Problem Description: In the provision of health care, the identification of patients involves risks that may result in misdiagnosis, testing, surgery or giving medications or blood products to wrong patients.

Proposal for improvement: The Strategy for Patient Safety of the Andalusian Autonomous Government includes among its objectives the unequivocal identification of citizens that contact with the Andalusian Public Health System and says explicitly that all citizens treated in primary care must be unequivocally identified by at least two data, one of them, the Unique Andalusian Health Record Number (NUHSA). Therefore, we have developed a protocol which aims to establish a policy for secure identification of patients that lets identify reliably the patient as the person to whom the treatment, care or service is focused and, in turn, relate the treatment, care or services with that patient.

Strategy: The scope of our work covers all health services that integrate the eight Clinical Management Units of our Health District: primary care centres, emergency departments, domiciliary care, critical care units, minor surgery, etc., and so to all health and non health professionals who have direct care contact at any time with the patient.

The following tools will be used for diffusion:
1. Sessions/Workshops for health and non health professionals.
2. Brochure for the Citizen Advice Service Professionals.
3. Publication of the document on safety and unequivocal identification of patients in local magazines, aimed at citizens.
4. Publication of the document on safety and unequivocal identification of patients, aimed at professionals in newsletters.

+ Info: http://seguridadpaciente.com/Jornadas10/comunicaciones/Resumen% 20020.pdf


Posted by Fernando Palacio
English version by Erika Céspedes