The Safest Way to Identify and Track Patients During the COVID-19 Pandemic and Beyond

In healthcare, accurate patient identification is absolutely critical. The COVID-19 pandemic is a reminder of just how important this is since a single mistake can lead to dangerous exposure, the virus spreading, treatment errors, and even death. Fortunately, there’s a simple and highly effective solution to help ensure flawless patient identification during the COVID-19 pandemic and beyond; moreover, this solution helps prevent the spread of coronaviruses and other germs and bacteria. 

At ACS MediHealth, we regularly work with healthcare providers to deploy and integrate Zebra’s ZD510-HC healthcare wristband printer and Zebra Z-Band antimicrobial wristbands for positive patient identification and tracking. Zebra’s ZD510-HC printer prints a wide range of Z-Band wristbands, which are available in sizes ranging from infants to adults, with either adhesive or clip closures for extra safety. Importantly, each wristband has an antimicrobial coating that helps keep patients and healthcare workers safer from viruses.  The wristbands are designed to withstand 70% alcohol solutions, hand-sanitizers, and other harsh cleaning solvents. Additional options are also available for sensitive skin, and Zebra’s wristbands are even MR Safe, which means they don’t present additional hazards to patients undergoing MRI procedures. Z-Band wristbands are two to six times as durable as other patient ID wristbands, and the ZD510-HC printer produces them with exceptional quality, ensuring optimum image durability and first-time scanning, even for narrow barcodes. The ZD510-HC is also engineered with patient safety in mind, with a disinfectant-ready and UV-resistance housing that’s designed to handle regular sanitizing with harsh chemicals and UV light. The printer is the easiest wristband printer to use on the market, with fast-loading wristband cartridges. You can just pop them in and start printing in seconds. Each cartridge also contains a smart chip that allows automatic calibration. With the smart chip, the ZD510-HC instantly identifies the wristband size and automatically configures darkness and speed settings to ensure optimal print quality and maximize wristband durability.

You can easily deploy the printer with multiple connectivity options, including Ethernet, USB, USB Host, and Bluetooth LE. There’s also an optional dual wireless radio connection that uses 802.11ac and the latest security protocols, plus Bluetooth 4.1 with concurrent wired and wireless communications. The ZD510-HC is validated for use with leading admission, discharge, and transfer (ADT) systems, including Allscripts, CareFusion, Cerner, CPSI, Epic, and McKesson. You can easily get up and running quickly by using the wristband formats from these solutions. Additionally, the ZD510-HC is powerfully secure. It includes the latest wireless security protocols plus advanced security and management features such as PrintSecure. Zebra’s PrintSecure makes it easy to configure your printer to use secure connections, block unwanted access, and protect your data and infrastructure. Ultimately, it’s not only good for patient safety but also good for the safety of healthcare networks and systems as well. The ZD510-HC also simplifies HIPAA compliance with direct thermal printing, so there are no printer ribbons to secure, incinerate, or shred.

There’s never been a more important time to do everything we can to protect patient and healthcare workers, and positive patient identification is a key strategy in the fight against COVID-19 and for the wellness of everyone in the weeks and months ahead. If easy yet accurate patient identification and improved patient safety are priorities in your healthcare facility, we strongly recommend Zebra’s ZD510-HC wristband printer and Z-Band wristbands.

To learn more, contact our team at ACS MediHealth for information, pricing, and answers to your questions.