For most industries, properly managing inventory can mean the difference between profit and loss. In healthcare, it can actually mean the difference between suffering and relief, and even between life and death especially when it comes to barcode processing errors.
There are dozens of scholarly articles that conclude barcode technology can have positive impact on the safety of medication administration – that is, in reducing serious medication errors during order transcription and/or administration of medication. Using barcode verification is proven to reduce potential adverse drug events if used consistently and properly. Errors can and do occur however, from failures to use the technology appropriately, employing workarounds and perceived disruptions in the medication administration process.
Barcode Processing Errors
At the point-of-care, barcoding is used to verify that the right drug is being administered to the right patient in the right dose and at the right time. As reported by the PA Patient Safety Authority (Medication Errors Occurring with the Use of Bar-Code Administration Technology; Pa Patient Saf Advis 2008 Dec;5(4):122-6),
“The effectiveness of bar coding technology in safeguarding patients is limited by the extent to which it is correctly and consistently used at the bedside by each clinician administering medications. In a study of the 85 facilities under the Hospital Corporation of America facilities using barcode medication administration (BCMA), only 64% of patient armbands were scanned and only 86% of medication labels were scanned.”
Given the compliance failure rate of practitioners who choose not to use this technology when performing point-of-care tasks as serious as giving medications, a concern arises when expecting that same manual process to be adhered to for management and control of inventory – a function staff may not view as having as vital an impact on patient safety.
Barcoding as an inventory management solution has 2 main failure points:
- Barcode scanning requires a manual step conducted by a human operator.
- And, because the barcode scanning workflow process does not actually require a barcode scan when inventory is dispensed or restocked, inventory changes are missed.
100% compliance would be needed for barcode technology to be relied upon to correctly identify inventory usage and stocking levels. And even if that were achieved, barcode-based inventory management cannot automate alerts on medication expiry data. The best you can hope for is expiration date verification during returning and restocking functions – and again, only with 100% compliance.
RFID vs Barcode in Pharmacy Inventory Management:
RFID-enabled storage cabinets (refrigerators and controlled room temperature cabinets) require minimum effort from staff, while offering maximum results to pharmacy directors and hospital administrators.
Your pharmacy staff simply maintains their current workflow - open the door, remove what’s needed and close the door. An embedded RFID reader scans for RFID tags and updates inventory every time the unit door is opened and closed.
It’s actually pretty astounding. Information is automatically captured so pharmacy directors always know what’s in stock, and the system can be programmed to provide auto restock alerts and reorder reminders. Expiration date notifications are configured to your particular inventory and your specific rotate / return schedule.
And while RFID automation certainly saves labor - your staff will enjoy no hassles and no disruptions. The biggest benefit is assurance that you have continuous visibility of your pharmaceutical stock, can quickly find and remove expired or recalled medication, and identify shortages before stock-outs happen that can put patients at risk.
Intrigued? See Intelliguard® Controlled Temperature Inventory Management System: Open the Door, Close the Door, System Automatically Updates Inventory.