Pharmaceutical company expands bar codes

LAKE ZURICH - Fresenius Kabi USA announced a three-year plan to add GS1 Data Matrix bar codes to its pharmaceutical portfolio of vials, syringes, IV solutions and parenteral nutrition products.

The new bar codes will be added to each unit of use, as well as packaging. Fresenius Kabi is the first pharmaceutical company to commit to offering GS1 Data Matrix bar codes on all drug product labels.

Data Matrix bar codes on product labels are easily scanned at any position and store more crucial information, such as lot number, expiration date and National Drug Code, than a standard one-dimensional bar code that only stores the National Drug Code, the company said.

The initiative was piloted on select IV products earlier this year and will continue with the first vial products available in early fall. This initiative will help streamline workflows at health care facilities by reducing error-prone manual data entry by providing automatic identification and verification of products in medication management systems, Fresenius Kabi said.