Bar Codes in the Hospital

Bar codes have become ubiquitous in the world of retail. Most clerks don’t have to waste time typing in a code or a price. Instead they quickly scan a bar code that registers the exact item you have purchased along with the cost. It reduces human error and allows for precise sales tracking and inventory control. The same technology is available in hospitals. Many patients now get a wristband with a bar code so that medications and procedures can be matched to the right patient.
A recent study carried out at Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston studied the bar code system to determine whether it helped improve patient safety. The investigators found that utilizing bar codes to match medicine to patient reduced the likelihood a person would get an incorrect drug by almost 60 percent. The system also reduced the risk of dosing errors. Perhaps it’s time for all hospitals to enter the 21st century and make sure patients are tagged with a bar code on their wrist to cut down on the serious problem of medication mistakes.
[New England Journal of Medicine, May 6, 2010]