Direct patient association

A method comprising

• entering patient data manually at an admission, discharge and transfer (ADT) computer,
• encoding the patient data into memory of a wristband to be worn by the patient,
• receiving with a reader a wireless signal transmitted by the wristband, wherein the receiver is located in a room assigned to the patient,
• displaying a name of the patient on a display screen of a hospital bed in response to the reader receiving the wireless signal,
• transmitting from circuitry of the bed to at least one bed status computer that is remote from the bed at least some information included in the wireless signal,
• communicating messages between the bed status computer and the ADT computer to verify that the patient is in the room that has been assigned, wherein verification is achieved without the need for any manual data entry at the bed and without the need for any manual data entry at the bed status computer,
• communicating a verification message from the bed status computer to the circuitry of the bed, and
• displaying a verification message on the display screen of the hospital bed.