Barcodes can save the life to the patients, says the Department of Health. The barcodes being printed on the surface of the implants is a smart idea. Such an approach will be useful for the patient safety reasons.
After the 2010 PiP scandal, the British Department of Health started a new initiative aimed at the avoiding similar scandalous situations in the future. In 2010, 50,000 patients had been fitted with the faulty silicone implants.
To avoid the disparity and potential mess with the implanting items, the new tracking system was developed. The barcodes on an implant and on the wristband of the patient should be the same. The new system just scans the data on the product packet and the patient’s identity wristband.
Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt commented the new system:
“This can actually save lives for the NHS. We also have a number of operations where the wrong implant is put into someone’s body and then that has to be changed at a later date. If we use modern barcode technology, we can deal with a lot of these problems.”
In addition, the system will be the perfect way to trace the implants, even in the case when things went wrong, the system will help quick and easy to figure out why and what can be done.
Tim Wells, cardiologist at Salisbury NHS Foundation Trust, said: “Knowledge is power.
‘Knowledge is power. This provides us with a level of data and insight that can be used to better challenge clinical practice and variation, helping us to reduce inefficiencies and improve patient experience and outcomes. But, more importantly, it ultimately helps to safeguard our patients from avoidable harm.’