Oncology Research Today is a free monthly online journal that collates and summarizes the latest research about Oncology, including details on cancer, surgery, chemotherapy, radiotherapy.

Patient misidentification in oncology care.

Schulmeister L

Oncology Nursing Consultant, River Ridge, LA, USA. lisaschulmeister@hotmail.com

Patients with cancer are at risk for patient misidentification, or "wrong patient" incidents. Patient misidentification can result in medication and transfusion errors, unnecessary testing or procedures, and, in some cases, death. Patients may be misidentified when nurses mispronounce their names, refer to them by their first or last names only, are complacent and fail to check armbands, or encounter language or communication barriers. Errors caused by patient misidentification can be prevented when healthcare providers consistently use two unique patient identifiers (other than the patient's room, examination, or chair number) to verify identities.

Published 2 June 2008 in Clin J Oncol Nurs, 12(3): 495-8.
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