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The Effects of Bar-coding Technology on Medication Errors: A Systematic Literature Review
Kevin Hutton1, Qian Ding, Gregory Wellman
1From the College of Pharmacy, Ferris State University, Big Rapids, Michigan.
Journal of Patient Safety
|February 25, 2017
Summary
Bar-coding technology adoption in hospitals significantly reduces medication errors. This review found bar codes effectively prevent wrong drug, dose, patient, and route errors in healthcare settings.
Area of Science:
- Health Informatics
- Patient Safety
- Pharmacy Practice
Background:
- Bar-coding technology adoption has increased in U.S. health systems.
- Limited studies utilize strong prospective methodologies to assess bar-coding impact.
- Research has explored both in-pharmacy and bedside bar-coding implementations.
Purpose of the Study:
- To systematically review the effectiveness of bar-coding technology in preventing medication errors.
- To identify specific types of medication errors preventable by bar-coding in hospitals.
Main Methods:
- Systematic literature search from 1998 to December 2016.
- Inclusion of studies measuring the effect of bar-coding technology on medication errors.
- Exclusion of studies focusing on efficiency or workarounds; focus on medication error outcomes.
Main Results:
- 10 studies with prospective before-and-after designs were reviewed.
- 9 studies were conducted in the United States, 1 in the United Kingdom.
- 9 studies focused on patient care areas, 1 on pharmacy settings.
- All 10 studies indicated positive effects of bar-coding implementation.
Conclusions:
- Bar-coding technology demonstrates potential in reducing medication errors within hospital settings.
- Specific errors preventable include wrong dose, wrong drug, wrong patient, unauthorized drug, and wrong route errors.
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