WSJ Article: Hospitals and Standards

interesting (WSJ pay for,

Hospitals Target Risks Of Color Wristbands April 4, 2007; Page D5) article on how hospitals are coming together to standardize the color of wristbands in hospitals, to:

"To address the problem, a number of hospitals around the country have formed groups to standardize color designations in their states and regions. They are limiting the number of colors and bands to avoid confusion, and taking steps to ensure that labels and stickers used in patients' medical records correspond with the colors and meanings used on the wristbands. Hospitals are also purchasing bands embossed with pre-printed messages to reinforce the meanings -- such as "allergy" or "fall risk" -- and asking both patients and staffers to remove any colored charity or social-cause bracelets that might add to the confusion."

I really think this is the only way to effectively deal with standards AND get a majority of a community to buy in and use them. Let them bubble up from the bottom-up, there may be some chaos, but otherwise you go down the road of committee meetings and planning forever.