Scan4Safety requires clinical staff to change established workflows. Investment in training and change management is as important as investment in technology.
Organisations that treat training as a box-ticking exercise consistently report lower compliance and more persistent workarounds than those that invest properly.
Training design principles
Training should go beyond teaching staff how to use the scanning system. It should help staff understand why scanning matters for patient safety, connecting the process to the specific harms it prevents. Staff who understand the purpose of scanning are significantly more likely to maintain compliance under pressure.
Training should be:
- Role-specific, connecting the scanning tasks each staff group will undertake to the patient safety harms those tasks help prevent
- Practically focused, with hands-on practice using the actual scanning equipment and system
- Flexible in scheduling, with multiple identical sessions offered to accommodate clinical rotas to ensure all staff can attend
- Supported by reference materials, including intranet resources and hard-copy guides available in clinical areas for reference after training
Change management
Scan4Safety represents a significant change to clinical workflows. Effective change management supports adoption and sustains it over time.
- Engage early and widely. Involve clinical staff, operational teams, and support services from the outset. Co-design workflows rather than imposing solutions. Staff who feel involved are more likely to adopt new practices.
- Communicate the why. Help staff understand why scanning matters for patient safety, not just how to scan. Share real examples of errors prevented and recalls accelerated. Connect scanning to the problems it solves.
- Provide visible support. Ensure implementation leads and champions are present in clinical areas during rollout. Staff need accessible support when questions arise or problems occur.
- Celebrate successes. Recognise milestones and share positive outcomes. Feedback about errors prevented and time saved reinforces the value of scanning for staff who are experiencing the disruption of change.
Managing workarounds
Workarounds occur when staff bypass the intended scanning process — pre-scanning items away from the patient, scanning after administration rather than before, or scanning one patient’s wristband for another’s procedure. They are common in organisations using barcode-assisted systems and undermine the safety benefits scanning is designed to provide.
Managing workarounds effectively means understanding why they occur rather than simply enforcing rules. Common causes include insufficient WiFi coverage, time pressure in high-acuity environments, and inconveniently located or unreliable equipment. Tackling the underlying issues that cause workarounds and co-designing solutions with frontline staff is far more effective than attributing non-compliance to individual behaviour. The staff who use the system day-to-day are best placed to identify what needs to change.