Hospital Use of Bar Coding Medications

Bar coding medications is what hospitals do to help reduce medical errors. By attaching scanned linear bar codes to commonly used drugs, doctors and nurses can make sure that the right patient gets the right medicine.

How It Works

• Most hospitals attach a unique bar code to a patient's wristband, the medication container and the nurse's identification badge, according to Sutter Health, a major California hospital chain. When the nurse dispenses the patient's medicine, she scans the three codes to make sure the patient gets the correct medication in the right way. Scanners connect to hospital databases and patient files to help the hospital staff administer drugs accurately.

Federal Requirements

• The Food and Drug Administration passed a rule requiring hospital bar coding of medications in 2004. Hospitals must label all medications with bar codes that identify the medication's National Drug Code number; they may also include lot number and expiration date, although that is not a requirement.

Effects

• Hospitals using bar code technology substantially reduce the number of medical errors involving drug administration, according to a 2010 article in the "New England Journal of Medicine." Sutter Health reports that bar coding prevented approximately 28,000 medication errors in the first 18 months of use.