What it means
A safety rule from The Joint Commission: before giving a medication or blood, drawing a sample or doing a procedure, staff confirm the client's identity with two separate identifiers. Common pairs are the full name with the date of birth or with the medical record number. A room or bed number is never an identifier, because clients move.
For the nurse
Ask the client to state their name and date of birth when they are able, and compare the answers with the wristband and the order or label. For a client who cannot answer, check the wristband against the record. Label specimens in front of the client.
In a chart
"Identity confirmed with name and date of birth against the wristband before the blood transfusion was started."
At a glance
| Also written | two identifiers, two patient identifiers |
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Related terms
blood transfusion
Giving blood, or a part of blood, from a donor into a person's vein.
wristband
A band worn on a client's wrist that shows their identifying details, and sometimes alerts such as allergies.