Barcode technology in healthcare is the use of optical machine-readable representation of data in a hospital or healthcare setting.
Dating back to the 1970s, there has been a continual effort among healthcare settings to adopt barcode technology.Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society (HIMSS). (2003). "Implementation guide of the use of bar code technology in healthcare" Retrieved from https://www.mckesson.com/medical-supplies/handheld-scanner/. In the early 2000s, published reports began to illustrate high rates of medical error (adverse events) and the increasing costs of healthcare. As a result, the desire for barcoding technology in healthcare has grown as a realistic and applicable solution. Ranked first in 2007, and second in 2008 in the Annual Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society (HIMSS) Leadership Survey, HIMSS placed high priority on the use of barcoding technology to reduce medical errors and promote patient safety.Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society (HIMMS). (2007). "18th Annual HIMSS Leadership Survey." Retrieved from http://www.himss.org/2007survey/DOCS/18thAnnualLeadershipSurvey.pdf Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society (HIMMS). (2008). "19th Annual HIMSS Leadership Survey." Retrieved from http://www.himss.org/2008survey/DOCS/19thAnnualLeadershipSurveyFINAL.pdf
Applications Barcoding in healthcare have a variety of applications, including the following:
Drug Identification & Medication Management
In February 2004, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) had ruled that barcodes must be used on certain human drugs.U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). (2011). "Bar Code Label Requirements for Blood and Blood Components Questions and Answers." Retrieved from https://www.fda.gov/BiologicsBloodVaccines/DevelopmentApprovalProcess/AdvertisingLabelingPromotionalMaterials/BarCodeLabelRequirements/ucm133136.htmFood and Drug Administration (FDA). (2004). "C.F.R. 201.25.21" Retrieved from http://www.accessdata.fda.gov/scripts/cdrh/cfdocs/cfcfr/CFRSearch.cfm?fr=201.25 Barcodes must be linear in nature and must be readable by barcode scanners. Medication barcodes must have specified information for drug identification. Barcode information on these items must include the National Drug Code (NDC) number of the drug, an 11-character identification number for the medication. The NDC contains the name of the medication, dosage and drug company that produces the medication. Additional information that may be included in medication barcodes may include the expiration date and lot number of the medication.U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). (2011). "National Drug Code Directory." Retrieved from https://www.fda.gov/Drugs/InformationOnDrugs/ucm142438.htm This is to ensure that counterfeit or expired drugs are not being administered to patients.
Medication management is a difficult task, where it focuses on the "five rights": right patient, right medication, right dose, right time, and right route of administration.Work, M. (2005). "Improving medication safety with a wireless, mobile barcode system in a community hospital." Patient Safety and Quality Care. Barcode medication verification at bedside allows for nurses to automatically document the administration of drugs by means of barcode scanning. A study conducted in 2010, found that barcode usage prevented about 90 000 serious medical errors each year and reduced mortality rate by 20%.Poon, E.G., et al. (2010). "Effect of bar-code technology on the safety of medication administration." New England Journal of Medicine, 362, 1698-707. One case study noted that the use of barcodes reduced medication administration error by 82% across five units studied from pre-implementation to post-implementation. Other benefits that were realized included improved nursing staff satisfaction, improved patient satisfaction, and improved community relations.
Specimen Collection and Blood Infusion Safety
Healthcare professionals use specimen testing (blood, urine, or other) to help diagnose disease, assess health, and monitor medication level. Accurate results can be yielded from error-free collection procedures. Specimens that are collected incorrectly may lead to erroneous test results, which may lead to serious consequences for patients. This may include delayed or inappropriate treatments and incorrect medication adjustments. More than 160 000 adverse medical events per year have been suspected in the United States because of misidentification of patient or laboratory specimen.Valenstein, P.N., Raab, S.S., & Walsh, M.K. (2006). "Identification Errors Involving Clinical Laboratories: A College of American Pathologists Q-Probes Study of Patient and Specimen Identification Errors at 120 Institutions." [Electronic Version]. Archives of Pathology & Laboratory Medicine, 130(8), 1106-1113. Barcodes have been noted to be the strong intervention to reduce labeling errors on specimen collection, by ensuring that the correct patient is receiving the correct analysis.Astion, M. (2006). "Right patient, wrong sample." Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality Case and Commentary. Retrieved from http://www.webmm.ahrq.gov/case.aspx?caseID=142 Kellicker, P. (2008). "Barcode technology for specimen collection." Retrieved from http://www.uscnorriscancerhospital.org/condition/document/45392 Barcode technologies for specimen collection have been noted to increase patient comfort, decrease possible delays in diagnosis or treatment, and decrease rework for nurse and laboratory staff.Brown, J.E., Smith, N., & Sherfy, B.R. (2011). "Decreasing mislabeled laboratory specimens using barcode technology and bedside printers." [Electronic version]. Journal of Nursing Care Quality, 26(1), 13-21. Within medical laboratories, incorporating barcoding systems has shown to be effective in reducing ID errors.
Barcoding blood and other products may allow for reduction of medical error and increase patient safety. It is important to ensure accurate identification with blood products because ID errors put patients at risk for blood incompatibility. Blood and blood components manufactured on or after April 26, 2006, must have barcode labels according to the FDA.U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). (2006). "Bar Code Requirements for Blood Banks." Retrieved from https://www.fda.gov/BiologicsBloodVaccines/NewsEvents/WorkshopsMeetingsConferences/ucm113326.htm This is used to minimize the risk of patients receiving the wrong treatment in healthcare facilities. According to the FDA, a minimum of four information pieces are required for the label, which includes the following: Unique identifier for the facility from where the blood is coming from; Lot number identifying blood donor; Product code; and Blood type (ABO, O, A and Rh).
Surgical Instrument Identification & Sterilization
Barcodes may be used to identify the instruments and supplies in kits for surgical procedures. Barcodes on instruments and surgical kits may be used to ensure compliance with surgeons' preferences for what their kits contains. Using barcodes to track what is and what is not used on a regular basis may allow for hospitals to optimize kit contents for each surgeon. This provides opportunities to reduce costs since surgeons' preferences may change over time.Nicolaos, G., Tournoud, M., Hassani, Y., Mignon, J., Frémont, F., & Fabrequette, A. (2009). "Unique device identification of surgical instruments by DataMatrix 2D barcodes." [Case Study]. GSI Healthcare Reference Book, 1-3. With the lack of updates to kit and cart contents, it may result in the purchase of supplies that are never used. Barcodes on surgical instruments can also be used to uniquely identify each instrument that is sterilized individually.Flynn, S. (2007). Documenting the steam sterilization process. Healthcare Purchasing News, 31(1), 50.
Patient Identification
Barcode technology can help prevent medical errors by making accurate and reliable information readily available at the point-of-care. Information, such as the drug identification, medication management, infusion safety, specimen collection, etc. and any other patient care activity can be easily tracked during the patient stay. Electronic barcoding ensures correct patient identification throughout the testing process, including test ordering and reporting, specimen collection, and analysis. Wristbands with barcodes that contain the information of the patient's medical record or visit number, and any other identifiers have been proven effective to provide proper patient care.Niceware International. (2006). "Patient safety with bar code and RFID labeling identification." [White Paper] Retrieved from http://cdn.ftp.nicelabel.com/docs/whitepaper/wp-healthcare-patientsafetywithidsolutions-102406-3.pdf In addition to wristbands, barcode scanners and printers are used to confirm patient identification.
Barcoding Concerns
Economists appreciate the implementation of mature technology as barcodes. However, there are concerns with the use improper of barcoding technology in healthcare.
From a technological standpoint, linear barcodes (1-D symbologies) have their limitations with regards to their size, memory capacity to store data, and standards that are put in place (e.g. the 11-digit National Drug Code). There is an escape with 2-D symbologies providing smaller barcodes for healthcare materials and tools or with a larger amount of data stored on them.HIMSS10 NewsWire (2010). “eMix Presents Cloud Technology for Image Sharing,” Healthcare IT News, 23 February 2010. Retrieved on 12 July 2010. As a result, there has been a lot of attention on the use of two-dimensional barcode labels. However, older models of barcode scanners that exist in the healthcare setting today are unable to read reduced space symbology, RSS composite, or two-dimensional symbologies. The simple fact is that recent models of smartphones are capable to read all known barcodes using respective applications.
Looking at barcoding technology in healthcare from a clinical professional standpoint
Barcoding technology shall impact the workflow process positively.Poon, E.G., et al. (2008). "Impact of barcode medication administration technology on how nurses spend their time providing patient care." [Electronic Version]. Journal of Nursing Administration, 38(12), 541-549. Workflow interruptions can be a result of fatigue and frustration among clinical professionals when having insufficient information technology support.Cummings, J., Ratko, T., & Matuszewski, K. (2005). "Barcoding to enhance patient safety." Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality Case and Commentary. Retrieved from http://www.psqh.com/sepoct05/barcodingrfid1.html * Workarounds are common with the use of many technological devices/systems. Some examples that lead to workarounds in a clinical setting as a result of barcoding technology may include (but are not limited to) adherence to outdated equipment.Heinen, M.G., Coyle, G.A., & Hamilton, A.V. (2003). "Barcoding makes its mark on daily practice." [Electronic Version]. Journal of Nursing Administration, 33, 18-20.
The stated concerns of 2003, as e.g.
Formalizing clinical professional autonomy to document decisions; Support is too slow to respond in clinical routine, especially emergencies; Software limits in flexibility with dosing orders; Sequencing the monitored medication delivery window and prioritizing other patient care activities; Equipment problems such as missing armbands, illegible barcodes, and others summarized as insufficient data quality
All concerns may be traced to inadequate methods or insufficient tools with a non covered demand for support by modern information technologies. Actualized decision making in 2016 for equipping the mobile work serves to overcome limitations originated from legacy equipment.
Future of Barcoding in Healthcare