Preventing mistaken identities
Some people share the same name. In Geneva, 17 people answer to the name of Pierre Martin. Of course, their date of birth can be used to establish ID but to reduce the risk of misidentification, the hospital has developed procedures that begin at the time of admission and are applied throughout the hospitalization period, including in the operating room.
Every hospitalized patient wears an ID bracelet that contains a datamatrix (two-dimensional barcode) to reinforce identity checks. During treatment, the patient's identity is verified by asking them to state their full name and date of birth. The patient's answer is compared to the information on their wristband and in the medical file. Scanning the datamatrix using a reader directly opens the patient's electronic file.
