THE THEORY BEHIND
THE PATIENT GUARD® SYSTEM
The Patient Guard® System: Your New Partner in Infection Control
Preventing the transmission of healthcare associated infections (HCAIs) and infectious disease is a critical concern in today’s healthcare facilities. But how can administrators and healthcare teams effectively communicate that certain areas are under isolation when space for visual communication inside facilities is at a premium and budgets for are ever-decreasing?
Enter the Patient Guard® System. Designed for flexibility, control and clear messaging at an economical price, our Patient Guard® Inserts vertically display a range of symbols designating infection-controlled zones without taking up valuable space – all at an exceptionally low cost. Now, your healthcare team can transform any ordinary doorway or passageway into a clearly defined and bordered isolation room or area with Tagg Design Inc’s Patient Guard® System. Our innovative Patient Guard® System uses a selection of clearly visible and easily-identifiable images to effectively communicate infection control messages. The message inserts hang from display rails mounted on every door frame, entranceway and passageway.
The Importance of Clear Messaging in Infection Control
Without a doubt, a crucial part of any infection control strategy is communication. It is intuitive that a failure to effectively communicate – for example whether certain areas and spaces are under isolation or that infection control equipment and protocols are needed - money spent on supplies such as isolation stations, hand sanitizer dispensers, or supply dispensers is wasted. With increasing budgetary pressure faced by most healthcare institutions, no one can afford to waste precious resources.
Enter Tagg Design Inc’s Patient Guard® System. Interchangeable inserts with clear icons and messages are featured on display rails that get mounted on every door frame, entranceway and passageway in your healthcare facility. Then when needed, an insert from our selection of messaging is hung from the display rail, in the path of those entering to effectively transform it into a clearly-defined isolation area.
Our product line puts communication, and therefore patient, visitor and staff safety, first. Clear symbols and images inform everyone who enter or exit a controlled space as to the conditions present and protocols needed. By using the Patient Guard® System you clearly mark-off a room or hall in isolation, all at a cost lower than what you would expect.
Controlling Spaces with Standardized Images
In any infection control strategy, controlling patient rooms, wards, facility entrances, and emergency departments and designating them according to conditions is of great importance. Spaces have to be transformed into a clearly defined and bordered isolation area. But in order for this to work, signs and messages that designate the spaces have to be used and must be recognizable, identifiable, and completely clear.
Tagg Design Inc. is keenly aware of this requirement in infection control. Our extensive background designing visual communications and healthcare products is a winning combination that has led to the creation of the Patient Guard® System. We know that when it comes to communications, standardized images with universal appeal work well. And in no area is it more critical for images to have a strong impact than in spaces where public health and safety is at risk.
Let's take a case where standardized images with universal appeal have had enormous impact: the red octagonal Stop Sign. Tremendously important for public safety, the Stop Sign is nearly universal in its message and in its impact. Because it is standardized and used throughout most countries through the world, a quick glimpse is all it takes to understand its important message. That same ubiquitous octagon is also featured in Tagg Design’s hand hygiene symbols, leading all those who see it to follow the “Stop! Clean your Hands” directive. This is the creativity and simplicity that drives all of the innovations in our product lines: large, bright, easily noticeable symbols create results for infection control.
Flexibility and Functionality are Key
Clear messaging and nearly-universal recognizability are critical aspects of infection control. Products that are part of a clearly-defined, sophisticated infection control strategy have to be both flexible and functional. That is, products have to be well-designed to operate in a number of diverse spaces and applications.
All of Tagg Design Inc’s products have flexibility and functionality built into their design. The Patient Guard® System is usable in a variety of spaces, such as patient wards, emergency department screening rooms, and building entrances. Any space with a door frame, passageway or entrance can be transformed into a clearly defined and bordered isolation room or area. Flexibility also comes from the Patient Guard® Inserts, as you can interchange the message you want visitors, staff and patients to see according to your needs.
Functionality comes from the system's durable mounting system, which takes up next to no space; its eye-level hanging height ensures that everyone can easily view the message that you want to convey such as “Stop: Clean Your Hands”, “Isolation” or “Outbreak: No New Admissions”. The Patient Guard® Inserts are made of functional, easy to store lightweight cardstock, which means that they are hygienic and can be disposed of after use to reduce cross-contamination. Their material’s low cost and disposability also allows you to use new, fresh inserts that are bright and clean – and have more impact than faded messages. Functionality also drives the choice of the Patient Guard® Insert’s mounting system, which is unobtrusively sleek, easy to install and even easier to use.
And of Course, the Matter of Price
Of course, all of the features and benefits of the Patient Guard® System have to be weighed against the problem of budgetary restrictions. Tagg Design has seen how many healthcare sites and institutions are faced with using less-than-adequate, in-house “diy” signs and symbols that fail to provide clear messaging or create physical boundaries that are based on standardized images with universal appeal. Nor are they flexible or functional.
Nor should any facility have to face the trade-off of using premium products that have an outlandish price tag in the quest to obtain good infection control communication. The Patient Guard® System is designed with budgetary restrictions in mind, without having to compromise on appearance, usability or public safety. Working out to be less than the cost of a “diy” project, using the Patient Guard® System means that your facility can be sure that all visitors, staff and patients understand the meaning of your signs and respect rooms and spaces that are under isolation.
Contact us today to learn how your healthcare team can transform any ordinary door frame, entranceway or passageway into a clearly defined and bordered isolation area with Tagg Design Inc’s Patient Guard® System.
