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Article: FDA final rule requires bar codes on human drugs, biological products.
- Article from:
- Transplant News
- Article date:
- March 29, 2004
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 2004 Transplant Communications, Inc. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has issued a final rule requiring bar codes on labels of thousands of human drugs and biological products, including blood. In its February 25th announcement, the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) said the action is aimed at protecting patients from preventable medication errors and reduce the cost of health care and is a major step forward in the department's efforts to harness information technology to promote higher quality of care.
"Bar codes can help doctors, nurses and hospitals to make sure that they give their patients the right drugs at the appropriate dosage," said HHS Secretary Tommy Thompson. "By ...