New barcode scanner solution is being tested in hospitals in ,Texas, it has been designed to help prevent common medical faults occurring inside hospitals across the world.

A leader in barcode solutions; IntelliDOT are responsible for this invention. It had been announced recently that they had completed its implementation of their brand new IntelliDOT Bedside Medication Administration across a network of healthcare centres across Texas. The device is less than 8oz and designed to sit at the patient’s bedside, it is battery driven and has a twelve hour battery life.

The barcode unit is designed to be sit at the bedside of the patient, it has the ability to store vital information regarding the patient and assist the doctors to easily pull back the blood type, personal information and potentially medical history. Its strongest application will be with regard to the reduction of over or incorrectly prescribed medication. Portable barcode reader units can be carried by the nurses and allow them to read information about the patient easily.

The intelliDOT systems will allow the carer to input information into the barcode unit about the prescribed medication or patient case, this information will then sync with to a central server, allowing the data on the handheld barcode scanner to be digitally updated real time. This invention on its own could digitise current patient records and patient data allowing medical staff to access records of their current patients.

Despite its revolutionary application, barcodes have been used to store high levels of data for some time, saying this the systems needed to manage these style systems are very inventive and IntelliDOT are leaders in this area and must be rewarded for their technology and research. In Europe many health services are still using paper filling and paper records. The national health service in the UK are still using prehistoric systems for patient data and prescribing medication within hospitals and health centres across the UK, however with technology such as this having a considerable cash value it will be a long time before many hospitals and health services install a fully paperless system.

IntelliDOT should be rewarded for the idea and concept behind these barcode reader systems, for health and safety on its own the technology could help to save lives and help to reduce medical accidents, for many health centres this should be worth the investment on its own. Even though this is an innovative technology with unique applications, the sad fact is that I see many organisations investing elsewhere before investing in such a device.