A barcode tracking system which is being used at hospitals in Oxfordshire has won a top safety award.
The barcode scanning system which is being used at Oxforshire’s University Hospitals (OUHs) was introduced around six months ago and after some early teething trouble is now proving its worth. The system can request appropriate tests from a patient’s bedside and has been claimed to remove the need for paper records completely.
The National Patient Safety Award for technology and IT to improve patient safety has been awarded for the design of the ‘electronic radiology and laboratory medicine order communications system’.
The scanning technology used uses both the Positive Patient Identification and Electronic Patient records to disseminate information. A medic simply has to scan the patient’s wristband barcode with a scanning device for an instant test request label to be generated.
The Chief Clinical Information officer at the OUH said:
“We are delighted to be recognised in this way, especially within six months of going live with the system. We hope that the work done here at the Oxford University Hospitals can benefit other trusts across the country, as we have used a completely transferrable technology infrastructure. I am especially grateful to all our staff and commercial partners for their help with this project, which we designed to improve patient safety and efficiency of diagnostic processes.”