Study: Bar codes may not fix medication mistakes

While bar codes have been touted as the ideal solution to medication mistakes, it appears that they aren't nearly as effective as advocates had hoped. That, at least, is the conclusion drawn by the researchers behind a new study. In fact, bar coding hasn't yet been proved to cut medication errors, and worse, shortcuts caregivers use with bar codes can make matters worse, they said.

The issue of the benefits of bar-code accuracy is a critical issue, given that about one-third of U.S. hospitals have a bar-code medication-dispensing issue--and most are expected to install such a system over the next few years. Not only are safety issues at stake, but also costs. Related software costs several hundred thousand dollars to implement, install, and connect to related areas such as the pharmacy.

These efforts might not pay off over the long term, however, researchers found. To draw their conclusions, the team of researchers from the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine and the University of Wisconsin spent several years observing the use of bar-code technology in five hospitals. In so doing, they analyzed half a million medication scans to determine the extent to which such systems managed to cut medication errors. They found many types of errors occurring due to a multitude of issues in how the systems were configured or how the meds were stored.

For example, if a nurse can't get the mobile computer from the system into a room--due, for example, to crowding from other equipment--the nurse may take the portable scanner in the room, scan the wristband and medication code without hearing the computer issue a warning that the meds are going to the wrong patient. Other times, patient bar codes were taped to door jambs, behind nurses desks, clipboards and key chains rather than on the patient. What's more, nurses overrode patient ID scans 4.2 percent of the time, often because the codes were unreadable due to patient activities.

To get more details on study findings:
- read this Philadelphia Inquirer piece

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