Hospitals provide a wide range of patient treatments through specialized medical teams, medical equipment and information technology devices. Regardless of status (private or public) or size, hospitals have a pressing opportunity to modernize patient records through automatic data entry with significant financial incentives to invest in bar code scanning. Bar code scanning solutions can also be applied to many other hospital applications such as patient admittance, inventory management and patient billing.
When used within hospitals, equipment and devices must be regularly cleaned to limit the spread of germs in order to provide the best patient care and protect employees in direct contact with infected patients. Datalogic specifically addresses this need with ‘Disinfectant-Ready’ enclosures designed with special silver ion-based additives to withstand daily cleaning with harsh disinfectant chemical solutions. This allows the scanner to be safely cleaned to effectively fight against germs and bacteria without the plastic enclosure degrading overtime.

	Patient Admittance When a patient is first admitted to a hospital, bar code scanners can assist in the creation of the patient's unique electronic medical record (EMR) and identification wristband. By scanning the code on the back of the patient's driver license or identification card, hospital administrators will be able to accurately capture the patient's information through Driver License Parsing and populate the hospital's standard admittance form. Entering this information correctly at the first point of contact is critical for all remaining medical procedures as well as reoccurring visits.
	Document Handling Bar code scanners are replacing manual document handling activities in hospitals by automatically tracking the movement, filing, location, archival, maintenance and destruction of patient documents. This comprehensive system allows medical professionals to identify documents by reading a unique bar code, improving speed of service and enhancing productivity. Hospitals also experience a significant reduction in errors through automatic data capture, which is critical for patient safety. Patient Billing To avoid disputes with patients and insurance companies, scanners can be used to create accurate and timely patient billing statements. In fact, a comprehensive patient billing statement can be created while care is being giving at the bedside through automatic updates made to the patient's EMR by the medical staff working with the patient. Linking the patient's bill directly to their EMR allows the statement to be developed quickly and accurately, avoiding redundant tasks otherwise performed by the administration department.
	Patient Billing To avoid disputes with patients and insurance companies, scanners can be used to create accurate and timely patient billing statements. In fact, a comprehensive patient billing statement can be created while care is being giving at the bedside through automatic updates made to the patient's EMR by the medical staff working with the patient. Linking the patient's bill directly to their EMR allows the statement to be developed quickly and accurately, avoiding redundant tasks otherwise performed by the administration department.
	Bedside Point-of-Care (BPOC) Patient safety has become one of the healthcare industry's foremost concerns, with the prevention of medical errors taking priority. In an effort to prevent errors, bar code scanners are now being used as a ‘mediator' between healthcare professionals and the patient during direct care activities. For patient identification, medication verification and Electronic Medical Records (EMR) management, healthcare professionals rely on Datalogic's ‘Perfect Match' to eliminate medical errors.
	Hospital Material Management Traditionally, bar code data capture solutions were used in manufacturing or warehouse operations for ‘track and trace' applications. Today, hospitals use scanners in the same way to track and trace the location of frequently used medical equipment such as infusion pumps, electrocardiographs, mobile computer carts or portable ultrasound units. Automatic data capture provides major productivity gains for medical staff with real-time data and determines the actual use of equipment to justify new purchases.
	Inventory Management Using mobile computers or bar code scanners, a cost-saving inventory management system can be created to track important supplies, materials and equipment. A reliable and accurate database for complete and partial inventory levels can be maintained by simply scanning items when used and when new materials are received. The collected data can be uploaded to a central computer system in regular batches or in real time. This allows for better forecasting, reducing the chance of stock-outs, overstocks, and emergency shipments.

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