For Patients & Families | Understanding Patient Identification

Across Boston Children’s Hospital, we promise to provide the very best care, while ensuring that your safety remains our number one priority. In our constant journey to renew and strengthen our commitment to safety, we are working to continually improve our patient identification practices, and for the safety of our patients, we are dedicated to accurate confirmation of patient identification when you are at Boston Children’s.

You should always expect proper patient identification throughout your visit, meaning you would always:

1. be actively identified by our staff, who will ask you to state your first and last name, as well as date of birth
2. have your first and last name, as well as date of birth, repeated back to you for a verbal verification
3. have the opportunity to review the spelling of your first and last names, as well as date of birth, prior to any identification bracelet placed upon you
4. be strongly encouraged to wear a patient identification bracelet upon any type of visit to any of our Boston Children’s locations

Here at Boston Children’s Hospital, staff train in High Reliability, which includes the self-check STAR method (Stop, Think, Act, and Review), “paying attention to detail,” and “closed communication.” Through education and practice, our staff are dedicated to safeguarding the accuracy of our patient’s information.

In addition, at Boston Children’s Hospital, both patients and families are entitled to their rights; including privacy and confidentiality. (You can see “Patient and Family Rights” at this page.) Boston Children’s is committed to providing the safest care possible. If you see something that does not make sense, or if something worries you, please speak with any member of your care team.

Never be afraid to raise a concern or ask questions. We want to hear from you if you are not satisfied with your care so, please “speak up for safety!”

In partnering together, Boston Children’s, our patients, and families can be confident that patient safety will always be our top priority.

You can share your concerns in these ways:

• talk to a Boston Children’s nursing or department manager
• contact a member of Boston Children’s Patient Relations staff