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Our hospital is having difficulty with our Accu-Chek glucometers scanning the patient bracelets. The patient bracelets are manually put together: chart labels are printed at the main printers on the floors, a patient label is placed onto the bracelet and is sealed with a matte covering. The patient label includes a linear barcode and a QR code.
Currently, we are unable to remove the QR code (for possible interference) as it is utilized for our Welch-Allyn equipment, and we do not have data to support a change of the type of patient bracelet. The QR code does not consistently scan enough with the Accu-Chek to warrant removing the linear barcode.
Does anyone else have these issues with the Accu-Chek glucometers not picking up their patient barcodes? What have you found as your solution to decreasing the number of manual entries into the glucometer?
We have no consistency with the issue in order to direct us into the root cause of our problem: glucometer vs patient bracelet. All insight is appreciated!
I have the accu check devices configured in RALS to not be able to scan the QR and Aztec barcodes. I’ve found that having the staff reprint the bands and/or reach out to IT about the printer settings have helped a lot of the issues with scanning barcodes. One of our printers was not configured properly and therefore none of the labels or bracelets were able to be scanned!
We had issues with this long ago. Turned out the QR codes had a prefix or suffix added to the linear id that had to be accounted for and masked in the configuration. image.png
One possible issue: The Accu-Chek meter with the green scanner light takes a picture then the software decodes it. If the scanner cannot capture the barcode through the matte finish it won't scan. I use "magic tape" on my control vials to keep the exp dating readable and found I have to rub the tape onto the vial to make the tape go from matte to clear. It's possible this may be the issue. Found out the hard way when our ID badges had a red film put over the ID barcode so staff couldn't make extra copies of their badges.
I find that many times the patient wristbands will not scan because of a dirty scanning window on the glucometer. Residue from the cleaning wipes will obstruct the scanner. Clean the window with an alcohol prep. The linear barcodes are not affected by obstruction as much as are the QR codes.
