Technical modification within the healthcare industry: improving both the efficacy of the National Drug Code carrier and the accessibility of electronic health records to reduce adverse drug events

Abstract

The main focus of this thesis is to present the idea that QR codes could contribute to a reduction in adverse drug events (ADEs) by increasing the efficacy of the national drug code and storing an electronic health record. This research examines a change in drug coding technology that will decrease the number of ADEs by empowering patients to be more proactive in tracking their current prescription and over-the-counter drugs, and the ADEs associated with them. The main objectives of this research are to demonstrate the benefits of replacing the National Drug Code carrier, discuss how these benefits will decrease ADEs, and associate electronic health records with ADE reduction. Our recommendation to replace the current one-dimensional barcode with a two-dimensional barcode known as Quick Response (QR) code will allow both patient access and drug awareness software application compatibility. This research also provides relevant information to the use of the QR code such as the following: information to be stored, practical hardware devices for patients to access information, and software applications that can contribute to decreased ADEs.