Barcode technology in healthcare is the use of optical machine-readable representation of data in a hospital or healthcare setting.
Dating back to the 1970s, there has been a continual effort among healthcare settings to adopt barcode technology.[1] In the early 2000s, published reports began to illustrate high rates of medical error (adverse events) and the increasing costs of healthcare. As a result, the desire for barcoding technology in healthcare has grown as a realistic and applicable solution. Ranked first in 2007, and second in 2008 in the Annual Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society (HIMSS) Leadership Survey, HIMSS placed high priority on the use of barcoding technology to reduce medical errors and promote patient safety.[2][3]
- ^ Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society (HIMSS). (2003). "Implementation guide of the use of bar code technology in healthcare" Retrieved from https://www.mckesson.com/medical-supplies/handheld-scanner/.
- ^ Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society (HIMMS). (2007). "18th Annual HIMSS Leadership Survey." Retrieved from http://www.himss.org/2007survey/DOCS/18thAnnualLeadershipSurvey.pdf Archived October 17, 2011, at the Wayback Machine
- ^ Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society (HIMMS). (2008). "19th Annual HIMSS Leadership Survey." Retrieved from http://www.himss.org/2008survey/DOCS/19thAnnualLeadershipSurveyFINAL.pdf Archived June 7, 2012, at the Wayback Machine