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Study identifier: NCT03960099 Synced from ClinicalTrials.gov · July 28, 2026
● Recruiting

Pictographs for Preventing Wrong-Patient Errors in NICUs

Condition: Medical Errors · Electronic Medical Records  ·  Sponsor: Columbia University

PhaseNA
Planned participants6250
Who can joinAll sexes, N/A to no upper limit
Healthy volunteersNo

About this study

Newborns in the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) are at high risk for wrong-patient errors. Effective 2019, The Joint Commission requires that health systems adopt distinct methods of newborn identification as part of its National Patient Safety Goals. Displaying patient photographs in the electronic health record (EHR) is a promising strategy to improve identification of children and adults, but is unlikely to be effective for identifying newborns. This study assesses the use of Pictographs as a "photo equivalent" for improving identification of newborns in the NICU. This multi-site, two-arm, parallel group, cluster randomized controlled trial will test the effectiveness of Pictographs for preventing wrong-patient order errors in the NICU. Pictographs consist of three elements: 1) pictorial symbols of easy-to-remember objects (e.g., rainbow, lion); 2) the infant's given name (when available); and 3) a color-coded border indicating the infant's sex. The study will be conducted at three academic medical centers that utilize Epic EHR. All parents or guardians will be asked to select a unique Pictograph for each infant admitted to the NICU to be displayed on the isolette and in the EHR for the duration of the infant's hospital stay. All clinicians with the authority to place electronic orders in the study NICUs will be randomly assigned to either the intervention arm (Pictographs displayed in the EHR) or the control arm (no Pictographs displayed in the EHR). The main hypothe…

This description comes directly from the study's public registry record.

Talk to the study team

Jason Adelman, MD, MS  ·  646-317-4803  ·  jsa2163@cumc.columbia.edu

Tony Lin, MD  ·  (917) 628-6522  ·  akl17@cumc.columbia.edu

Always discuss trial participation with your own doctor first.

Locations (4)

Johns Hopkins MedicineBaltimore, Maryland, United StatesNot Yet Recruiting
Brigham and Women's HospitalBoston, Massachusetts, United StatesCompleted
New York-Presbyterian HospitalNew York, New York, United StatesRecruiting
Montefiore Medical CenterThe Bronx, New York, United StatesActive Not Recruiting

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Source record: clinicaltrials.gov/study/NCT03960099