Comparison of barcode scanning by pharmacy technicians and pharmacists' visual checks for final product verification.

Purpose: The results of an evaluation of barcode verification by pharmacy technicians as an alternative to visual checking by pharmacists in the final stage of the dispensing process are reported.

Methods: A two-phase study was conducted to compare error rates with pharmacist visual checks versus technician-operated barcode scanning for final verification of prepackaged unit dose medications dispensed from a satellite pharmacy of a large hospital. In phase 1 of the research, potential errors detected by technician barcode scanning after pharmacist visual checking and approval to dispense were measured over two weeks; in phase 2, dispensing errors not detected through technician scanning that were subsequently detected by pharmacist visual check were measured over three weeks.