New 2D barcodes printed on to the pharma labels of drugs and vaccines could revolutionise healthcare and make patients safer.
Cook Children's Health Care System, Athenahealth, Microsoft and two drug manufacturers have collaborated to develop a new kind of barcode that is able to feature information about the product and the patient it is being given to.
Unlike a traditional linear code which just features things like the batch number, doctors would be able to record the date of prescription and various other data that would previously have had to be written down by hand and then transferred into a computer.
Ryan Champlin from Cook Children's said this kind of printed label could cut the margin for error and make life easier for medics.
"We envision HealthVault being a lifetime record for patients ... This whole project plays into the bigger effort to make healthcare safer and less expensive," he added.
This comes after experts at Michigan State University recommended that packaging and pharma labels should be simpler to save time and reduce mistakes in emergency situations.
Denny Bros Ltd, 14 October 2011
