Monday, August 21, 2006

Physical World Connection For Prescriptions

First prescription bottles were using 2d codes for authentification, now the actual prescription will use a 2d code to be linked to an electronic network.

2d code readers and generating companies will soon be in high demand for the numerous applications they will offer.


From e-health Barcodes on prescriptions

The Department of Health, Social Services and Public Safety in Northern Ireland has announced it has signed a £6.8m contract with Hewlett Packard to provide it with bar-coded prescriptions in an effort to counter fraud.

The new Electronic Prescribing and Eligibility System (EPES) will be rolled out over the next two years. Paper prescriptions will be printed with a two-dimensional barcode at the GP's surgery that encodes all of the information. The prescription itself will be logged in a database.

When the script is presented at a pharmacy, the barcode will be scanned, capturing all of the information written on the prescription, and this will be compared against the electronic record. Payment to the pharmacy will then be made from the electronic, not the paper record.

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

Scott, just think of all the ways information could be catered to an individual consumer by the pharmacy. Eckerd, Walgreens, etc. are already fighting for all the prescriptions they can get. They are already giving out money if you will move your prescription to them. Think of all the ways they could use this to attract more customers, especially if they are the first to get customers to start scanning at their store. The possibilities are endless. The government could also pass requirements to link certain meds to the CDC website when you scan a barcode... and on and on. Okay, I'll stop now. Just get excited when I think of how big this is going to be. It sure is taking off slowly, but seems to be picking up speed. I remember trading with my broker and asking him when we would be able to trade online. He said noone would ever really be interested in that. I told him he was dead wrong and just wait. Two years later it started and just skyrocketed from there. Enough for now.

No Name said...

You're starting to see how big physical world connection can be.

We are just starting to learn how valuable the mobile can be as a tool.