An introduction to bar code platemaking quality and verification procedures

While there is no cure for illegible handwriting on handwritten prescriptions, bar codes can eliminate human error in dispensing and verifying medications. In a recent study, 20 percent of the prescribed medications taken by, or administered to, patients were the wrong dosage. Nearly 90 percent of these could have been prevented by the use of bar codes on unit doses at the time of administration. In this white paper by Quint Co., the benefits of bar codes in patient safety is discussed.

The bar code begins with the platemaking process, and quality is a critical issue. an out-of-spec bar code may be unreadable or improperly formatted. While many companies invest significant amounts of money in implementing bar code labeling, they do it wrong. A health care-compliant bar code is constructed according to specific rules. Read more about these rules and bar code quality in this white paper.

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