GESTIÓN EN SALUD PÚBLICA: AHRQ Patient Safety Network ► Use of temporary names for newborns and associated risks.

AHRQ Patient Safety Network

In newborns who don't yet have names, using more specific names than "Babygirl X" cuts wrong-patient errors by 36%.
Pediatrics. 2015 Jul 13; [Epub ahead of print].

PSNet header image

Use of temporary names for newborns and associated risks.

Adelman J, Aschner J, Schechter C, et al. Pediatrics. 2015 Jul 13; [Epub ahead of print].

Wrong-patient errors are considered to be never events. Newborns are assigned temporary names if they don't have a name immediately after birth, and this may increase the rates of wrong-patient errors. The need for first and last names in electronic health records has led to a generic first name convention of "Babygirl" or "Babyboy," which is in use in more than 80% of neonatal intensive care units in the United States. This pre-post study found that implementing specific first names that incorporated the mother's name reduced the incidence of wrong-patient errors by 36% compared to the generic naming. These errors are rare even at baseline, but given the ease of changing the naming convention, this is a pragmatic approach to improving the safety of computerized provider order entry for hospitalized newborns.

PubMed citation