Wireless Barcode System to Reduce Laboratory Errors

A wireless handheld barcoding system is designed to reduce medical errors related to specimen collection and the reporting of laboratory results.

Called wCareCollect, the system allows healthcare providers to scan a patient's barcoded wristband to positively identify the patient, verify orders, and print a time-stamped barcode label for any specimen being collected. Because the system is wireless, the healthcare provider has up-to-the-minute information to assure that the right specimens are being drawn at the right time from the right patient for the right tests, even if an order was changed just moments before. The system was developed by Care Fusion (McClean, VA, USA).

As an example of how the system works and why it is needed, the company cites the example of Washington Hospital Center (Columbia, MD, USA), a 900-bed hospital and the largest in the U.S. capital. Hospital personnel began searching for more-accurate laboratory specimen collection solutions when routine reviews of patient records turned up unrecognized errors related to specimen collection. Specimens were sometimes mislabeled, linking results to the wrong patient. Sometimes, the time of the draw was recorded incorrectly, leading to confusion about drug dosing. These errors indicated that the hospital had a much larger problem.

"This is a time bomb waiting to happen in every hospital,” said Craig Feied, M.D., director of the Institute for Medical Informatics in Washington (DC, USA). "When we really look closely, it's easy to find examples where patients suffer from small breakdowns in process. It's a serious problem because the wrong dose of drugs or a transfusion of the wrong blood type can kill a patient.”

Dr. Feied and colleagues at the hospital examined potential weak spots in their processes and realized the right technology could dramatically reduce the likelihood of human error. Putting the right tools at the bedside could ensure that the right tubes of blood were drawn at the right time, with an accurate label printed and affixed right at the bedside. This would do away with the risk of drawing the wrong blood on the wrong patient or mislabeling blood tubes, and it would guarantee an accurate specimen draw time for every tube.

WCareCollect is part of a full suite of six wireless, mobile barcode-enabled technology solutions, including wCareMed to support medication administration, allergy warnings, safety alerts, and complex intravenous (IV) situations; wBloodCare to verify blood products prior to transfusion; wCareAssist to record vital signs and patient care information; wCareView for a consolidated view of patient data; and wCareCapture for point-of-care billing for supplies and inventory control. In developing these solutions, Care Fusion has partnered with a number of industry leaders.

"I am convinced that once nurses have worked with wCareCollect, they won't feel safe working without it,” said noted Dr. Feied. "Patient safety is a good financial investment, too. A single transfusion error can cost millions of dollars, and solutions like those offered by Care Fusion can all but eliminate that liability.”




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