QR code armbands are being trialled as a way of ensuring western Queenslanders airlifted to the Rockhampton Hospital for medical attention will have a way of returning home planned for them.
The patient advocacy QR code armband initiative has been in place in the Central West Hospital and Health Service since 2021 and is now undergoing a formal Queensland Health trial.
Around 500 patients a year are retrieved by air from the central west for emergency treatment at larger centres and many have been discharged into a city with no direct travel link to their home town.
The bands, like those worn at festivals, include a QR code and the text: "Do not remove. Please plan my discharge. I am from rural and remote Queensland".
When scanned, the QR code on both the armband and the sticker connects to a document with information about where the patient is from and who they can ask for help.
A map of the CWHHS and a phone list of central west health facilities also is included.
Health Minister Shannon Fentiman said if the $130,000 formal trial with the Rockhampton Hospital was successful, the initiative had the potential to be rolled out state-wide for patients undergoing emergency aerial retrievals from rural or remote locations.
"We know how challenging it can be for people who are medically retrieved from rural and remote locations in an emergency, to then find their way back home once they're fit for discharge," she said.
"The innovative QR solution in the central west helps spark conversation between healthcare workers and patients, with all the important information they need to return home housed in the QR code."
Explaining the concept further CWHHS executive director of medical services David Walker said because many patients are retrieved as an emergency, they might not have their phones, or even their wallets with them, and could feel isolated and vulnerable.
"These patients are sent far away from home, family, friends, and support networks to a major centre with which they may be unfamiliar," he said.
"There will also be concerns surrounding appropriate arrangements being made for them to return home after their treatment is completed.
"Return journey details are important in discharge plans so that rural and remote patients get home safely and as quickly as travel options allow.
"Our patient advocacy QR code armbands and stickers are designed to facilitate these arrangements.''
All health facilities in the central west have stocks of patient advocacy armbands and stickers for use in the event of any emergency patient aerial retrievals from their areas.
Sally Gall
Based at Blackall, CW Qld, where I've raised a family, run Merino sheep and beef cattle, and helped develop a region - its history, tourism, education and communications. Get in touch at 0427 575 955 if you've got a story idea for me.
Based at Blackall, CW Qld, where I've raised a family, run Merino sheep and beef cattle, and helped develop a region - its history, tourism, education and communications. Get in touch at 0427 575 955 if you've got a story idea for me.
