This book explores how bar coding technologies are used in healthcare to provide safe patient care and reduce preventable deaths from medical and medication errors. This book illustrates how bar code applications are used in healthcare for point-of-care, medication administration, supply chain and document management and how such technologies impact an organization's bottom line.


The book explores the developments in bar coding that have occurred since HIMSS published its first guide, Implementation Guide for the Use of Bar Code Technology in Healthcare, in 2003. This updated book features discussion on the major bar code and auto-ID standards and national and international standards-setting organizations. In addition, the book explores emerging technologies such as radio frequency identification (RFID) applications, comparing these technologies to traditional bar coding. Special features of the book include an auto-ID implementation checklist, a list of auto-ID organizations and a hospital case study.