Hospital operations require managing an overwhelming number of elements, including tracking patients, administering medication, assigning equipment, and more. One of the best ways to manage these elements is by using barcode technology in healthcare.
An Overview of Barcode Technology
If you’ve purchased a product in the last fifty years or so, then that product probably had a barcode somewhere on its packaging or label. A barcode translates binary code into black lines on a white background. When a scanner shines an incandescent light or a laser beam over the code, it detects how much light is reflected back towards it. The black sections of the code reflect less light than the white sections, creating the 1’s and 0’s of binary code. A single barcode can contain 20 characters worth of information.
A barcode scanning system, consisting of the barcode, the scanner that reads it, and the software that processes the information contained in that barcode, can be used to track packages, process transactions, access records, and much more.
Applications for Barcode Scanning in Healthcare
In healthcare, identifying and tracking assets such as medication or consumables is a critical part of a hospital’s operations. Certain medications can have severe side effects if administered to the wrong patient or in the wrong dosage, making it crucial that only the intended patient receives them. Barcode technology in healthcare for asset tracking and management is also useful, as it ensures providers are always aware of the availability and location of tools.
Medication Administration
When healthcare providers dispense medication, they must carefully check the medicine and the patient’s records to ensure they are administering it correctly. A barcode label on the medicine bottle simplifies this, as they can simply scan the label and check with the patient’s EMR on their medical computer to double-check.
Patient Identification
Many hospitals have patients wear ID bracelets or wristbands from the moment they are admitted until they are discharged. Printing a barcode on this bracelet gives providers something they can scan with their medical tablet or computer to immediately pull up that patient’s records, rather than having to search for them manually.
Blood and Tissue Tracking
Under FDA mandate, blood and blood components (such as plasma and red blood cells) must be labeled with barcodes containing information such as blood type, the donor’s ID number, and the source of the blood. This use of barcode scanning in healthcare helps ensure that patients aren’t given the wrong blood type during a transfusion.
Similar practices are used for other donor tissue types, such as donor organs and skin grafts. This speeds up the transportation process and ensures compatibility between the donor and the recipient, two of the most important factors for preventing rejection of the donor tissue.
Medical Asset Tracking
One of the most critical responsibilities for a hospital is asset tracking. To put it simply, asset tracking is the task of knowing how much of everything you have and where it’s located. This applies to everything ranging from surgical equipment to consumable items like IV bags and bandages.
For equipment, barcodes can be used to track their preparation and usage. For example, surgical teams must carefully sterilize their instruments before using them to operate on a patient. By applying barcodes to these instruments and scanning them as they are prepared, the team can cross-reference with a tracking sheet to ensure they are preparing the correct tools.
For consumable items, barcodes are used to track their expenditure, letting a hospital’s staff know what is being used where and when they’re close to running out. This helps staff stay on top of procurement and maintain their inventory.
Benefits of Barcode Scanning in Healthcare
By implementing barcode scanning in healthcare, providers can reap numerous benefits, such as:
Enhanced Patient Safety
By verifying medicine administration by scanning a bottle’s barcode, providers can ensure that patients are only given the medication they need, thereby preventing medical errors. Scanning a patient’s wristband also helps providers access a patient’s medical records more quickly, empowering them with more information.
Streamlined Workflows
Barcode scanning can significantly reduce the bureaucratic workload on providers. Rather than having to dig through cabinets of paper files or searching through the EMR software, a provider can simply scan a patient’s bracelet and pull up that information automatically. Using barcodes to track and assign tools more easily also ensures that providers have the resources they require when they need them the most. Both of these practices ensure providers can focus on their patients and deliver better care.
Reduction of Wastage or Improper Use
Preventing wastage is a critical responsibility for anyone who manages a large inventory of consumable or perishable items. This is doubly true for healthcare, where many items are expensive, difficult to produce, and have extremely specific storage requirements.
Considerations for Using Barcodes in Healthcare
The benefits of using barcodes in healthcare systems are obvious. However, like with any tool or piece of technology, there are certain considerations that need to be addressed before implementing them.
System Integration
Using barcodes to access EMRs quickly is dependent on the EMR system being compatible with barcodes in the first place. Fortunately, most EMR programs are designed with this compatibility in mind, so this is a relatively easy issue to navigate. Inventory management systems are even less troubling; given the prevalence of barcodes and their use, it would be harder to find a system that doesn’t support barcodes.
Cost and Staff Training
Integrating a new tool into your workflow always comes with a price tag, and staff need time and the proper training to use it to its full effectiveness. This is true even for a system as simple as barcodes. During your procurement process, ensure your budget can cover the cost and that you have time to train your staff on how to use these new tools.
Customization
One advantage of barcode scanners is that they can be integrated directly into a medical tablet or computer. This sort of customization is easy for an original equipment manufacturer (OEM) to perform, as they have full control over the design and production process and can integrate peripherals like barcode scanners into their products.
Barcode-Ready Medical Computers from Cybernet Manufacturing
Using barcode technology in healthcare may not seem as impactful as other innovations, but the small, consistent improvements that it offers make a difference every day, with every patient interaction.
If your healthcare group is looking for an easy way to integrate barcode scanning into its daily operations, contact the team at Cybernet Manufacturing. Our medical computers and tablets can be customized with built-in barcode scanners, making it easy to implement them in your workflows.