Matching Healthcare Patients to the Right Care

Positive and accurate patient identification is absolutely critical in healthcare. A single mistake can lead to a dangerous mix-up of medications, a treatment error, or even death. Sadly, recent statistics show that we have a long way to go in avoiding mistakes and ensuring patient safety through positive identification.

  • 3 million people are still injured annually due to medication errors
  • 13% of surgical mistakes are directly related to patient ID errors
  • 64% of clinicians say a patient is misidentified “very frequently” or “all the time” in a typical medical facility
  • 63% of healthcare organizations say incorrect identification at registration is the prime cause

Thankfully, we don’t have to settle for these startling statistics. Technology now makes it much easier to ensure flawless patient identification, and one of the latest innovations is Zebra’s new ZD510-HC healthcare wristband printer paired with Z-Band healthcare wristbands.

Zebra’s ZD510-HC printer is designed specifically to provide the quickest and most effective way to identify patients accurately, from registration throughout the entire continuum of care. It’s validated for use with AllScripts, CareFusion, Cerner, CPSI, Epic, McKesson and all leading admission, discharge and transfer systems.

The ZD510-HC printer integrates with these systems to print barcoded identifying wristbands with exceptional quality, ensuring optimum image durability and first-time scanning, even for narrow barcodes. It also includes a disinfectant-ready and UV-resistant housing to handle regular sanitizing with harsh chemicals as well as exposure to UV light.

The printer is also the easiest wristband printer to use on the market, with fast-loading Zebra Z-Brand wristband cartridges. You can just pop them in and start printing.

Zebra’s Z-Band wristbands come in a wide variety of options, with antimicrobial coatings and hand-sanitizer resistance, so you can prevent the spread of germs while ensuring accurate patient identification and better patient safety.

Z-Bands deliver two to six times the durability of other products, and they’re available in a wide variety of sizes, from infants to adults. Adhesive and clip closures are also available for extra safety, and there are even additional options for sensitive skin.

Importantly, Z-Bands are also MR-Safe, so they don’t present additional patient hazards during MRI procedures.

Each wristband cartridge also contains a smartchip for automatic calibration. The ZD510-HC uses the smartchip to instantly identify the wristband size and automatically configure print darkness and speed settings to ensure optimal quality and maximize wristband durability.

Connectivity is also reliable and easy with Ethernet, USB, USB Host and Bluetooth LE as standard options. You can also choose an optional 802.11ac wireless connection and Bluetooth 4.1 with concurrent wired and wireless communications.

The device is powerfully secure and includes the latest wireless security protocols plus advanced security and management features such as Zebra’s PrintSecure, which allows you to configure your printer to use secure connections, block unwanted access, and protect your data and infrastructure.

The ZD510-HC also simplifies HIPAA compliance with direct thermal printing, so there are no printer ribbons to secure, incinerate or shred.

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. Our technology experts at SK&T have been recommending and deploying Zebra patient identification systems in healthcare facilities for years, and the ZD510-HC is the most convenient, advanced and effective solution we’ve seen to date.

To learn more about the ZD510-HC and Zebra’s patient identification solutions, contact an SK&T technology specialist now for a quick discovery call.

Here’s What’s Different with the 2019 GO Zebra Trade-In Program (And Why You Should Check It Out)

If you use enterprise mobile and printing technologies, and especially Zebra products, you may already be familiar with the GO Zebra Trade-in Program. But there are changes to the program this year, and it’s worth a careful look, particularly if you’re planning to upgrade your legacy devices or migrate from Windows to Android in the coming months.

The GO Zebra program offers significant rebate savings when you trade in your existing mobile devices or printers and upgrade to the latest next-generation technologies.

Rebates start at $15 to $25 for relatively inexpensive devices but reach as much as $650 per device, depending on the hardware you trade in. You can even get these savings by trading in qualifying non-Zebra devices.

This year, in addition to adding some of the newest Zebra technologies to the program, Zebra has expanded trade-ins to include barcode scanners. Savings are now available on the following products:

  • Handheld mobile computers
  • Vehicle-mounted mobile computers
  • Rugged enterprise tablets
  • Smartphone-style touch computers
  • Barcode scanners
  • Industrial printers
  • Mobile printers
  • Card printers
  • Select charging stations
  • Mobile printer batteries

The expansion of GO Zebra is great news for companies that need to upgrade their aging, underperforming devices and take advantage of the latest technological breakthroughs—without paying full price.

It’s also timely for businesses that are facing the end of support for all remaining Windows Embedded Handheld operating systems. This end of support is wreaking havoc on many organizations, leaving them with the prospect of running an unsupported operating system with no security patches and potentially major security risks.

Fortunately, the mobile device industry has responded by making Android the new enterprise mobile OS of choice. It’s now available on over 90% of all enterprise-grade devices, and it offers a more intuitive and user-friendly interface, plus touch mobile computing that makes apps and workflows as simple as tapping on a screen or swiping to enter data.

With new Android devices such as Zebra’s MC9300 mobile computer, you can even combine Android’s touch simplicity with a traditional keypad and an ultra-rugged handheld device that provides advanced barcode scanning as well.

Alternatively, you can choose an Android smartphone-style touch computer, a rugged enterprise tablet, or even a revolutionary device such as Zebra’s TC8300 touch mobile computer. The TC8300 combines touch computing and tilt-free barcode scanning in a warehouse data capture and productivity device that boosts worker productivity by 14% and enables 40% faster data entry with 60% fewer errors.

Security has also been simplified thanks to Zebra’s Mobility Extensions (Mx), which is available on all its 20+ Android devices. These extensions turn Android into a powerfully secure enterprise OS that gives companies complete control over every device, app, connection, and user access. Android’s over-the-air updates also make it easy to install the latest security patches to keep devices protected, and Zebra offers 10 years of guaranteed OS support and security updates with its LifeGuard™ for Android™ program.

In addition to usability and security benefits, Android also makes migrating to a new OS much easier. Its open architecture, global developer community, and sample code allow enterprise Android mobile apps to be developed much faster and more efficiently, which lowers the total time and cost of a migration.

Thanks to the GO Zebra Trade-in Program, all of these benefits are available at significant savings. Contact SK&T now to help you determine if this program is right for you, whether your current devices qualify, and how much you can potentially save.