![]() Nurses scan their employee badges, the patients’ wristbands and then the barcode on the drug container. ![]() This enables the nurse or technician to move unimpeded from nursing station to medication cabinet/cart to patient bed-saving time and improving efficiency. The reading rates of these CCD scanners are lightning fast. The barcode reader then uses sophisticated digital image-processing techniques to decode the symbology. These utilize a small video camera to capture an image of the barcode. This is an image-based scanner employing a charge-coupled device (CCD) or some other digital camera sensor technology. With a 2D barcoding system in place, nurses and other medical professionals can carry a wireless 2D scanner. Handwritten labels that are difficult to read or transcription errors-commonplace and even catastrophic occurrences in the past-can be virtually vanquished from the workplace by barcoding. The barcodes are “safer” for patients in terms of anonymity, accuracy and elimination of human error. This makes for fewer frazzled, frantic and frenetic nurses and other healthcare practitioners. It’s such a small code, furthermore, that it can be repeated several times on a patient’s wristband-eliminating the need to spin the wristband to locate the barcode. This enables the barcode to be scanned correctly, even if a portion of the barcode has printed lightly, is smudged or abraded. The coding pattern has a high level of redundancy, with the data repeated in several locations throughout the symbol. In addition, a 2D symbology offers another very advantageous feature for hospitals-it is not as susceptible to printing defects or scanning errors as traditional 1D barcodes. Lastly, a linear barcode-by its very design-encodes a limited amount of information.ĢD symbols are capable of being scanned omni-directionally-upside-down, backward or forward and even diagonally-making them the ideal choice in a hectic hospital environment, where there are likely to be nursing shortages or cranky patients. Additionally, the nurse or phlebotomist or respiratory tech needed to spin the wristband to find the barcode, wasting more time and irritating some patients. The curvature of the wristbands around the patients’ wrists lead to scanning errors. First of all, linear barcodes are designed to be scanned by a laser scanner in a flat position. Traditionally, scanning a linear barcode on a wristband posed certain challenges and limitations. Upon admission to the hospital, patients are “tagged” with barcoded wristbands for correct identification. In an emergency situation, data about the patient can be captured directly from the patient’s own license identification. Another advantage of 2D barcodes is that the majority of states in the United States require 2D barcodes on the back of driver’s licenses. This becomes part of the electronic health record (EHR)-the patient’s individual medical record stored in digital format on a server. ![]() The ADT module is fully integrated with other hospital IT systems, all of which hold an enormous amount of confidential information: Patient names (first, middle and surname), gender, date of birth, social security number, last visit, known allergies, immunization status, current medications, hospital room number, bed number, blood type, lab accession number, phlebotomy test orders, respiratory diagnostic tests, complete sample profiles, X-rays/CT scan orders and results, health insurance/billing information, advanced directives.Īny information that is entered into the ADT database can find its way into the 2D symbol through connectivity with barcode design and printing software. An ADT module is an integrated patient management system that runs the entire patient care workflow, from the registration of patient information, then on to bed tracking and ultimately to discharge. When a patient is admitted to a hospital or healthcare service, a profusion of information starts to be captured about that patient-and than stored in the hospital’s Admission/Discharge/Transfer System (ADT). Every bit of information relating to point-of-care or hospital protocol can be stored in a tiny symbol that is 2mm to 3mm square. A 2D barcode can store a mind-boggling amount of raw data in a very small space. A 2D barcode is not comprised or “bars” or “lines,” but rather consists of black-and-white “cells” or “modules” arranged in a matrix pattern-typically a square. When you are thinking about ways to implement the 5 Rights Initiative, think 2D. And you all know what wristbands are, yes? So far, so good. You folks out there in healthcare services are well aware of the 5 Rights to Medication Safety initiative-right patient, right drug, right time, right dose and right form.
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