Newstrail.com recently reported that 78% of hospitals in developed economies have implemented barcode scanning systems, used for medication administration and patient identification. That’s an impressive adoption rate, but the vagueness of “…developed economies…” is concerning. Furthermore, having a scanning system in place does not mean it is being used.  A recent survey of nearly 2000 hospitals by the Leapfrog Group report validates this concern.

Nearly every hospital—98.7%–had an electronic barcode medication administration system. They own the technology, so you could conclude that adoption is essential in place. However, the same Leapfrog study found that only 34.5% of those hospitals have fully deployed the technology.

The Leapfrog Group sets the following standards for complete implementation:

Barcode-based medication tracking must be implemented in:

  • 100% of their medical/surgical units
  • 100% of their labor and delivery units
  • 100% if their intensive care units
  • Medications and patients must both be scanned in at least 9% of bedside medication dosing

The last requirement is where most failures occur, according to Leapfrog.

A related study by PubMedCentral (https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/) found that medication scanning rates range from 5.6% to 67%, and patient scanning varied from 4.6% to 89%.

Why are barcodes not getting scanned? One of the most commonly reported reasons?

The barcode was unreadable

Sick barcodes in hospitals–isn’t that ironic?

Why is this important?

  • Medication errors are a significantly expensive liability
  • Effective barcode medication administration reduces errors by nearly 50%
  • Harmful errors dropped from 0.65 to 0.29 per 100,000 medications administered

Resolving and preventing barcode problems is important not only for patient safety and the cost of liability. Bad barcodes also encourage stressed healthcare workers to skip the scanning process altogether.

Resolving a barcode problem can be done quickly, easily, and inexpensively—if you know who to call.

We can help–quickly. Right now. Contact us here.

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3db Barcode Testimonial

Our company (an advanced software company) recently worked with Barcode Test to source a barcode verifier.  Not long ago, we were awarded a contract requiring products to be marked with IUIDs in accordance with MIL-STD-130.  For that standard, marking labels must pass a verification test that evaluates many variables (contrast, size, clarity, syntax, modularity, and more).  After a thorough search, we reduced our options to a select few.

In our search for a verifier, the Axicon line caught our attention.  Barcode Test is our regional reseller for this product.   From the beginning, they were very prompt with their responses.  We ended up having a quick call with John Nachtrieb to go over our needs.  John was extremely easy to work with and provided a lot of great information.  He was very knowledgeable on the matter and was quick to offer up a demo unit (free of charge).

Upon receiving the demo verifier and testing it, a few questions arose.  John joined a call with us and answered all our questions.  Ultimately, the Axicon verifier wasn’t the best fit for us, so we shipped the demo back.  John was completely understanding.  A few weeks later, Barcode Test reached back out with another possible verifier for us to try.  While they didn’t sell that brand, they just wanted to help us find the best option that met our needs. They even offered to send us the unit that they have in-house to see if it worked to our liking. 

Barcode Test is truly a great company to work with.  Their service and willingness to help the customer are far beyond what you typically get from other companies.  They are experts in barcode quality assurance and seem willing to help in any way they can (even if that means not getting a sale and recommending another option that better fits the customer’s needs).  If anyone is in the market for barcode verification/scanning services or products, I would highly recommend giving Barcode Test a call.

Regards,

Production Manager