Zebra Sees Increasing Sales of Bar-Coded Patient Wristbands

Zebra Technologies Corporation has announced that it has sold more than 125 million of its patient Z-band bar-coded wristbands, which can help prevent deaths caused by medical errors through enabling healthcare practitioners to verify a correct match between the patient and medical treatment provided. Unlike dot matrix and laser printers, Zebra says its thermal printers produce crisp, clear print quality on all wristband and label sizes to guarantee that the bar codes, which store patient health information such as name, blood type, allergies, primary physician and more, scan quickly and reliably for positive patient identification at the point of care.

“Since 1995, Zebra has been committed to the patients and healthcare facilities of the world by developing industry-leading thermal transfer technology that helps track patient and medication information, thereby reducing errors,” said Anders Gustafsson, chief executive officer, Zebra Technologies. “Of the 125 million wristbands Zebra has sold, more than 50 percent were in the last 18 months. This increase can be directly tied to the dramatic rise in the adoption rate of bedside bar-code medication administration, which requires scanning a patient’s wristband and then scanning the medication before administering it to the patient.”

Zebra Z-Band wristbands are currently used in 15 hospitals in Asia Pacific, facilitating the medical care. While many wristbands in use in hospitals are made of materials that are easily degraded from smudging, liquids or hand sanitizer. Zebra says the unique Z-Band resists alcohol, water, foams, soaps and blood, and are also MRI certified meaning they pose no adverse reaction risk during MRIs.

“Patient safety is a global problem which affects all regions alike, including Asia Pacific. Lapses in patient safety are remarkably common and have been exacting an enormous human and financial toll,” said Andrew Tay, president of Zebra Technologies, Asia Pacific. “We hope that with the success of Zebra’s Z-Band direct thermal wristbands, nurses, doctors, and other medical personnel in Asia can be sure that the patient will be identified correctly and the right information will be presented every time the wristband is scanned”.