To improve health care,the World Health Organization and the Joint Commission International recommend following the 6 international patient safety goals.Goal number 1 is precisely to identify patients correctly.It is also suggested that patient identification be standardized across different facilities in a health system and that other non-verbal approaches be used in unconscious patients.

IDverse is a brand,a product,an experience and an activation that was launched together with medical associations,health facilities,and brands precisely to improve and standardize the identification of patients.

This is an activation that invites all professionals and stakeholders in the health industry to reduce adverse events and theirconsequences.

Adverse Event is an incident that causes unintended harm to a patient due to medical care, frequently caused by a lack of knowledge of pre-existing conditions. In Brazil, it kills 26 people every hour. They rank among the leading causes of death nationwide. The same is true around the world. Annually, there are more than 2.6 million deaths and 134 million incidents that result in unintended damage from healthcare. 

Patients and healthcare organizations have tried to create identification systems to communicate pre-existing conditions and diseases. But these systems are not standardized. For example, at some hospitals, the green bracelet indicates a patient with latex allergy; in others, it stands for blood disorders. Patients also invest in their identification, even going as far as tattooing their condition. But this is done without following a recognized standard by paramedics, doctors, and nurses, which ends up having little or no effect.

IDverse is the first and only universal, scalable, open-source, cost-reducing, easy-to-use, and easy-to-read identification system that promotes patient safety. That both patients and hospitals can use to help healthcare professionals save lives. Each symbol represents a pre-exiting condition. The symbols were designed to be applied on any surface, from identification bracelets to patient tattoos. The intelligence behind the design allows for new symbols to be created as needed. And also, overcomes language barriers protecting people around the world.

For IDverse to be compelling, it is necessary to engage all stakeholders in the patient's journey, including himself. That is why we started to disseminate the symbols on two different fronts: health care professionals (that we are calling the door-inside-hospital strategy) and brands and patients (that we are calling the door-outside-hospital strategy). We are implementing the symbols in the hospital daily life in conjunction with Continuing Medical Education. And we engage brands, such as gyms and personal products, to make the symbols available for patients. Another essential health sector that we are working on is the rescue services. The paramedics can be trained to recognize the symbols and to inform the hospital at the beginning of the assistance.

In just one month, IDverse already has 9 partners implementing the symbols: the training for doctors, paramedics, and intensivists has already begun with 4 associations. And a large hospital network with 18 units and 37 clinics is analyzing how to implement the IDverse in their facilities by the end of the year. On another front, a large gym network already uses the symbols on members' personal objects, such as water bottles and locker keys. A renowned Brazilian bank is already implementing the symbols on its credit cards. A jewelry store chain is creating pendants with the symbols, and tattoo artists received instructions for the best execution of lifesaving tattoos.

It’s hard to measure the immediate results because it is not a traditional media campaign or traditional brand activation, it also involves patient data and confidential information. In addition, the best result would be to prevent deaths from adverse events, something that is difficult to audit at the moment. In other words, any new patient safety protocol takes years to be 100% implemented. But in just one month of implementation, we already have 9 partners among brands and health institutions that impact a network that can reach 17 thousand healthcare professionals and 6.5 million people.

Brazil has a Health Regulatory Agency, ANVISA, which is equivalent to the FDA. OTC products can advertise directly to consumers, but encouraging consumption is not allowed as a call to action. When there is the need to mobilize patients for treatment, brands can create unbranded disease awareness campaigns.

IDverse’s available to health care professionals and patients. It works inside and outside the hospital. Inside the hospital, doctors and nurses can offer better assistance, since they’ve better information about the patient. Outside, brands can help consumers put their health awareness on full display, guiding them to share lifesaving information.