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Bar code wristbands are not just for adults—infants need them too. Imagine a mother's shock to find out that a maternity nurse gave her newborn to another mother for the infant's first feeding. Although this may seem like a simple, non-threatening mix-up, the risks become acute when considering that many diseases like HIV and hepatitis can pass to a baby through breast milk. While reports of these incidents continue to grow, no one knows how often breast-feeding mix-ups occur. This is because few states require hospitals to report the incidents.

One well-reported case occurred at a Brooklyn hospital, where nurses confused two mothers that had the same first initial "S" and last name "Brown." In this event, one of their children ended up with the wrong mother for his first feeding. At least eight other incidents received attention, including two at Washington area hospitals where nurse aides gave babies to the wrong mothers at checkout. These errors highlight the major challenge of accurate patient identification, which is a well-documented cause of health-care errors that goes beyond just the maternity ward.

In each of the incidents above, bar coded wristbands could have prevented each infant mix-up. Bar coded wristbands form the foundation for positive patient identification and help prevent serious medical errors, or infants leaving the maternity ward with the wrong mother. When The Joint Commission first introduced its National Patient Safety Goals (NPSG) in 2003, improving the accuracy of patient identification topped the list, a position it has held with each successive year. Of course, this mandate extends to all patients, regardless of age.