Every day, physicians, nurses, administrators and staff work to improve patient safety and care in healthcare settings. Sometimes even the most skilled and experienced practitioners make mistakes. Thanks to better technology, patient safety has improved significantly over the past few decades. Barcoding is one of the technologies that has an impact on patient safety. The technology also increases operational efficiency and improves patient safety and identification.
As scanning technology advances, barcode technology is gaining importance in healthcare. While many people think of barcodes when they hear retail, barcodes also benefit hospitals and other healthcare facilities. Learn how barcode technology is impacting healthcare and its benefits to healthcare organizations.
What is barcode technology?
A barcode is a series of printed parallel bars or lines of varying widths and alphanumeric characters used to enter data into a computer system. These bars are usually black on a white background, and their width and number vary depending on the application.
The application of barcodes in healthcare
Drug Identification and Drug Administration
Medication management is a challenging job that relies on the “five rights” – the right patient, the right medicine, the right dose, the right time and the right route of administration. Barcode medication verification at the bedside allows nurses to automatically record medication use. One study found that the use of barcodes could prevent approximately 90,000 medical errors each year and reduce mortality by 20%. In another study, barcodes were found to reduce medication errors by 82%.
Surgical Instrument Identification
Barcodes can be used to identify instruments and inventory in surgical kits. Barcoding on instruments and surgical kits can be used to ensure compliance with the surgeon’s preferences for the items contained in their kits. Using barcodes to track what is used and not used often allows hospitals to optimize kit contents for each surgeon. This leaves room for lower costs, as surgeon preferences may change over time. Sterilized instruments can also be uniquely identified using barcodes on surgical instruments.
Patient identification
Barcoding technology can help prevent medical errors by providing accurate and reliable information at the point of care. During a patient’s hospital stay, any other patient care activities, such as monitoring medications, infusions, specimen collection, etc., can be tracked. Electronic barcodes ensure proper patient identification throughout the testing process, including test ordering and reporting, sample collection and analysis. A barcoded wristband contains information from a patient’s medical record or access number and any other identifiers that have been proven effective in providing appropriate patient care. In addition to wristbands, barcode scanners and printers are used to confirm patient identity.
Blood transfusions and laboratory samples
Diagnosis and treatment may involve processing biological components, such as blood. Did you know that the FDA requires barcodes on blood and blood substances used for transfusions? Barcoding technology improves accuracy and patient safety. That’s why they made this regulation. In laboratory testing, barcodes help technicians track samples to ensure accurate results.
Benefits of implementing barcode scanners in your healthcare facility
Accuracy
When used properly, barcode technology can improve the accuracy of your record keeping. Reliable scanners and barcodes ensure your data is correct and easily accessible. Barcode Medication Management (BCMA) is an inventory control system that uses barcodes to prevent human error in the dispensing of prescription drugs in hospitals. BCMA technology automatically completes the verification process by scanning the barcode on the medicine and the patient identification wristband, thereby helping nurses to confirm the “five rights” of medication: for the patient, for the drug, for the dose, for the route, and for the time.
Efficiency
With a single scan, barcode readers can access patient or supply records. This technology saves your employees the time they spend looking through documents to find what they need.
Inventory control
Inventory control is a complex process in the healthcare industry as it consumes a lot of time. Barcodes have helped the industry manage its inventories, no matter where they are located. Therefore, suitable materials and equipment can be used whenever and wherever required. Barcode scanning of products also speeds up the reordering process. When products reach a certain inventory level (surgical supplies, medicines, equipment, etc.), the system can automatically reorder products.
Patient privacy
Barcode technology can have built-in privacy protection to protect patient information. With the right software, you can maintain HIPAA compliance and protect your organization’s data.
The future of barcodes in healthcare
Given the history of barcodes as a proven and reliable technology, barcodes will continue to be adopted in healthcare facilities to improve the quality of patient care. Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) is expected to be a future competitor to barcodes. Nonetheless, barcodes will continue to play an important role and may work with RFID to form a hybrid system. In this regard, barcodes (1D and 2D) will continue to have advantages over RFID for the following reasons:
Barcodes are cheaper than RFID.
Barcoding technology is well suited for tasks where humans are stationary and objects are moving (such as blood sample collection and labeling).
Barcoding technology in healthcare will eventually begin to move towards the use of two-dimensional symbols to accommodate size constraints and the growing need for large amounts of data. With the increasing use of mobile phones, this has become a reality and will be an important step towards the development of mobile healthcare.
Generalize
The healthcare industry is constantly changing, from new treatments and drugs to new legislation. In many ways, the use of barcode technology in healthcare has been consistent. Barcoding solutions increase the efficiency and accuracy of everyday processes. Barcodes provide fast and accurate data entry for the healthcare industry, allowing you to spend your time increasing efficiency instead of manually entering data. By allowing practitioners to focus more on their patients, barcode technology improves efficiency, patient safety, and the quality of patient care.
