Bar codes are typically used for what purpose?

Bar codes are primarily designed to provide machine-readable information, facilitating quick and accurate data entry and retrieval. In the context of healthcare, they streamline various processes, including patient identification, specimen labeling, and medication administration, by allowing systems to quickly interpret the information encoded within the bar code. This capability significantly reduces the risk of human error that can occur with manual data entry, helping to ensure patient safety and efficient workflow within medical settings.

While tracking patient medications and labeling collected specimens are important tasks often associated with bar codes, the core function of a bar code is to encode data in a format that machines can easily read, thereby supporting various applications across the healthcare system. Writing down emergency contacts, on the other hand, does not typically involve bar codes, as it requires human-readable information rather than machine-readable formats.