Medical Labels - Using Proper Identification to Save Lives

Hospital medication errors injure 400,000 people every year and cost millions of dollars in rising malpractice insurance rates, lawsuits and extended hospital stays. Surgical errors, while considerably smaller in number, are almost as expensive, not merely in terms of lawsuits but in loss of patient confidence. All these errors can be prevented by accurate, timely, definitive medical labeling.

The errors are not surprising. Hospitals struggle with budgets, and these fiscal restraints mean they are often understaffed. As a result, medical personnel, from nurses to technicians, often have to work twice as hard to manage rising levels of admissions as baby-boomers succumb to the problems of aging, and fast-spreading seasonal illnesses like flu swamp staffing parameters.

Syringe labels that detail the protocols for administering medication, backed by medication labels that state medication names on IV lines, go a long way toward preventing medication errors. Additional line ID labels and IV tube change labels assist change-of-staff procedures, helping incoming nurses see the status of their patients at a glance.

Laboratory labels that specify the types of urine, blood or tissue testing to be done prevent unreadable handwriting from becoming an issue when the wrong test results are delivered to doctors, and prevent additional blood draws from patients in an already precarious state of health.

Patient advisory and warning labels, for everything from a dietary restriction to a medication allergy, keep patients safe from inadvertent mix-ups, and patient chart and file labels provide consulting physicians with easy access to vital information, such as known and potentially lethal medical conditions.

In the fast-paced world of medical care, where patients are routinely handed off to shifts every six to eight hours, labeling is essentially medical shorthand for patient care, enabling workers - even those with English as a second language - to comply with safety protocols that protect patients from harm and hospitals from serious error. Medical labels are an essential in an any medical setting.

Stephen is a writer for Universal Medical Inc.
Universal Medical Inc is a premier provider of medical labels and health care industry products. For the complete label line - please visit http://www.universalmedicalinc.com/medical-labels