NHS to ‘save millions with bar codes’

Millions of pounds could be saved through a new NHS scheme to identify patients by using bar codes.

Health minister Lord Philip Hunt has launched an initiative to get more hospitals and trusts using wristbands with barcodes to prevent mix-ups over patient identities, which cost the NHS around two billion pounds in extra bed days every year.

The Department of Health claimed that auto-identification data capture (AIDC) technology will help its agencies make significant cost-savings and will also ensure patients get the correct treatment, including being taken to the right surgery site.

A consultant surgeon at the Heart of England NHS Trust said of his unit’s identity tagging system, which has been in use for two years: “Since using the system the staff have been able to spend more time with the patients due to less paper work and patient safety has greatly increased.”

David Morgan added: “In fact we have not had a single mistake whilst using the system.”

Mr Morgan also noted that patients feel more confident because of the extra safety level and the trust has received many requests from people asking to transfer to the hospital having heard about the tagging system.

AIDC comprises a range of different systems and technologies, including linear barcodes used by retailers as well as magnetic stripe cards and radio frequency identification tags.