16 February 2017

The Importance Of Medical Barcode Labels

By Edward Turner


The one method that has proven essential in hospitals and places where health care is given is the use of bar codes. Using these labels has made it possible to ensure that medication is given to the right patient as per prescription, provided in the way it is supposed and at the right time. The medical barcode labels have gone a long way to eliminating errors in hospitals whose effect can give fatal results.

For the system to work, the health care provider will need to replace an electronic order. The medical order is then passed to the pharmacy where it is checked. The main aim of those who are working in the pharmacy is to ensure that the medicine does not cause any adverse effect to the patient. Once the pharmacists have approved the order, they will schedule when the dosage should be taken. This detail is passed to the administration of the electrical medication before it proceeds to the nurse.

When the nurse goes to the bedside of the patient, they will then retrieve the product and scan the bar code along with the bracelets that the patient is wearing. When the medication is being scanned, it informs the nurse whether everything is fine. In case this is not the situation, it will then give a warning.

The importance of the system is to make sure all the patients are safe by ensuring that no patient is given any wrong medication. The bedside is the place where the medicine reaches the patient, and if anything goes wrong there, then the patient may be put to danger. The technology has gone a long way to help patients.

Thus, since the health and the wellbeing of the patient is at stake, it is important for one to make sure that they have taken the time to purchase the right product. It is best to purchase from a company that is known to produce quality products. The last thing you want is to get products that are not reliable and end up putting the life of the one seeking help at risk.

Before giving the barcodes to the patients, it is the responsibility of the healthcare providers to take the time and have it tested to confirm that it is still functioning. This will avoid giving a patient a code that will send error messages or one that is not working as required.

The success of this scheme mainly depends on the competence of the clinician that is using it. It is important that the health care facilities take the time to train their nurses on how best to use the service. When they do this, the chances are that they will save more lives. Ignorance by the health care providers can cause danger even if the barcode system being used is effective.

There are so many things that could go wrong when one is using the wrong barcodes labels, or when one does not know how to use it. Hospitals need to ensure that they have emphasized the importance of this system to the patients.




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