Background: Small fonts on vaccine labels make manually recording vaccine data in patient records time-consuming and challenging. Vaccine 2-dimensional (2D) barcode scanning is a promising alternative to manually recording these data.
Problem: While vaccine 2D barcode scanning assists in data entry, adoption of scanning technology is still low.
Approach: Pilot sites (n = 27) within a health system scanned 2D barcodes to record vaccine data for 6 months. The time to record through scanning and nonscanning methods was measured for 13 vaccinators at 9 sites. A survey was administered to participants across all sites about their experience.
Outcomes: On average, 22 seconds were saved per vaccine scanned versus entered manually (7 vs 29 seconds, respectively). Participants reported preference for scanning over other vaccine entry options and identified benefits of scanning.
Conclusion: Expanded use of 2D barcode scanning can meaningfully improve clinical practices by improving efficiency and staff satisfaction during vaccine data entry.
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