FDA Wants Bar Codes On Drugs To Prevent Errors
Veterans Hospitals Say Errors Drop When Bar Codes Adopted
POSTED: 9:39 am EST March 13,
2003
UPDATED: 11:14 am EST March 13,
2003
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WASHINGTON -- The Food and Drug Administration has proposed requiring supermarket-style bar codes on every medication given to hospitalized patients. 
The agency said it will help ensure patients get the right dose of the right drug -- at the right time. The proposal is part of a series of new government steps to help prevent deadly medical mistakes that claim tens of thousands of lives each year."These proposals are key steps in reducing medication problems through using state-of-the-art technology," Health and Human Services Secretary Tommy Thompson said. Scientists estimate at least 7,000 hospitalized patients die annually because they get the wrong drug or the wrong dose, and the Institute of Medicine released a report in 1999 that stated 770,000 people are injured each year due to medication errors.The government says the bar codes would save $3.9 billion in medical errors each year.The proposed rule would apply to all prescription drug products and over-the-counter drugs that are commonly used in hospitals.The required bar code would contain the National Drug Code number, unique identifying information about the drug that is to be dispensed to the patient, in a linear bar code as part of the drug label. The bar code computer also can be programmed to catch other errors, such as prescribing a drug the patient is allergic to -- or that would react dangerously with another medication being taken. Veterans hospitals have reported that medication errors plummeted after they adopted a bar-code system.The FDA also proposed a faster and higher-quality reporting system for medical errors.
The agency said it will help ensure patients get the right dose of the right drug -- at the right time. The proposal is part of a series of new government steps to help prevent deadly medical mistakes that claim tens of thousands of lives each year."These proposals are key steps in reducing medication problems through using state-of-the-art technology," Health and Human Services Secretary Tommy Thompson said. Scientists estimate at least 7,000 hospitalized patients die annually because they get the wrong drug or the wrong dose, and the Institute of Medicine released a report in 1999 that stated 770,000 people are injured each year due to medication errors.The government says the bar codes would save $3.9 billion in medical errors each year.The proposed rule would apply to all prescription drug products and over-the-counter drugs that are commonly used in hospitals.The required bar code would contain the National Drug Code number, unique identifying information about the drug that is to be dispensed to the patient, in a linear bar code as part of the drug label. The bar code computer also can be programmed to catch other errors, such as prescribing a drug the patient is allergic to -- or that would react dangerously with another medication being taken. Veterans hospitals have reported that medication errors plummeted after they adopted a bar-code system.The FDA also proposed a faster and higher-quality reporting system for medical errors.
Read More About Bar-Code ProposalDistributed by Internet Broadcasting Systems, Inc. The Associated Press contributed to this report. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
