Pharmacy Corner
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“This new bar coding process allows the anesthesiologist to verify that the drug being given is the intended drug,” says Esther Fung. “It’s like having an electronic helper to double check for you.”

Dr. Fedorko amplifies the importance of the new system: “Electronic barcode identification is approximately 10,000 times more accurate than identification by the human eye. A system like this can virtually eliminate certain kinds of errors,” he says.

So far, the pilot program has been implemented in two of the 20 operating rooms at Toronto General Hospital, but based on the success of the program, and its relatively low capital cost, it could soon be expanded to all 20 operating rooms. During the two-month evaluation period in a live clinical environment, participating anaesthesiologists encountered no technical difficulty or interruption of workflow, and there was never a need to revert back to the previous process.

This new safety system developed at the Toronto General Hospital could make drug bar coding an even more crucial means of drug identification in Canadian hospitals and beyond. But most importantly, it has the potential to save lives.