The Power of a Barcode

“Double your pleasure, double your fun” might have been the slogan that encouraged the cashier to pick up a pack of Wrigley’s Gum, pass it over an NCR scanner, and as a result scan the first barcode.  With that series of actions, the Barcode Age had arrived.  

Our patients and clinical staff have benefited from the birth of barcodes.  From the wristband that is attached during admission, the label affixed to the test tube filled from your blood draw, or the label on the prescription drug being administered, your patient’s safety and your legal responsibility in today’s healthcare facilities are dependent in large part on these barcodes. 

From admission to discharge, the barcode provides a valuable form of Positive Patient Identification.  Combined with a mobile computer equipped with a barcode scanner while providing access to the EHR, you can process admittance, track medication, and identify patients.

Medical records, specimen samples, and medications are identified with a barcode label. Through the EHR, doctors and nurses can simply scan to locate and then update crucial patient information. For example, a nurse can use a mobile printer to create a barcode wristband while at the patient’s bedside. Each time a medication is being dispensed, a nurse can scan the patient’s wristband then scan the barcode on the medication and it will be instantly recorded in the patient’s medical record. The barcode technology makes sure the correct treatment is administered to the right patient, helping to reduce critical errors, while preserving patient safety.

During these challenging times the development of barcode technology, combined with healthcare grade mobile computers and printers, allow practitioners the ability to establish processes that ensure patient safety.