Barcoding in HealthcareBarcodes in HealthcareA Critical SolutionA report by Dr Robert A Hankin, President and CEO, Health Industry Business Communications Council (HIBCC) Bar code technology has been available and widely implemented in non-healthcare settings for decades. Historically, bar coding has been viewed by the healthcare industry as strictly a logistics tool, meant to organise and automate inventory management. Its benefits were seemingly limited to the cost savings associated with automated processes that eliminate and reduce the opportunity for human error. However, recent reports of the high rate of medical error and the ever-increasing costs of healthcare delivery have begun to change this perception. Now it seems, the use of bar codes has as much to do with safety and quality assurance as it does with automation and cost containment.
Barcodes 'stop baby mix-ups'Babies can be identified through barcodesArticle from BBC News Health, Wednesday, 22 January, 2003 Barcodes containing newborn babies' fingerprints are being used to prevent mix-ups over identification. As soon as babies are born their fingerprints, and those of their mothers, are stored in electronic barcodes which mother and baby wear on their wrists. The barcodes also contain other information, including the mother's details and information about the doctors present at the birth. In effect, they act as an ID card for the child.
Barcodes 'could prevent IVF mix ups'Thousands of Britons have IVF treatment each yearArticle from BBC News Health, Thursday, 11 July, 2002 Authorities in Europe and the US are considering whether to license a technology which manufacturers say would prevent IVF mix-ups. The makers of Embryoguard claim their barcode technology would make it impossible for IVF clinics to mix-up eggs, sperm cells or embryos. It follows reports earlier this week that a mix-up at one UK clinic led to black twins being born to a white couple.
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