Designing and implementing a bar code system.

: Used as part of a comprehensive materials management system, bar coding can help: reduce inventory, operating costs, space requirements, and loss due to pilferage and damage; increase productivity, stock rotation, and patient charge capture; improve material throughput, handling efficiencies, and audit-trail accuracy; and generate more accurate and meaningful management data. But the decision to bar code should come only after an extensive evaluation of off-setting costs and benefits, organizational needs, potential applications, and a thorough review of available hardware and software packages. The focus of this, the first of a two-part article on the design and implementation of an automatic identification system, will center on bar code use for SPD inventory, patient charges, linen supply system, and capital asset management.