QR Codes in Healthcare
QR codes in healthcare can significantly assist medical professionals in providing convenient and high-quality services to patients. They also offer the possibility of communicating with clients remotely, which is a safer and more hygienic method. These codes can protect patients and ensure the safety of healthcare workers, while still allowing them to perform their duties, especially during health crises. Moreover, QR codes are flexible enough to store various forms of information, which users can easily access by scanning the code with their smartphones.
No special technical knowledge is required to work with QR codes. Learn how to create an effective QR code using a QR code generator from this article in the blog.
7 Smart Ways to Use QR Codes in Healthcare
Medical QR Code for Medical Information
Printing infographics with health information can be costly. You also need to ensure that all key details are included despite the limited space, and that the font size is readable. You can save space by embedding the information in a QR code. People just need to scan it to get additional details about your information campaign. Or, you can create a digital infographic and embed it in the QR code. Users will be able to zoom in and out of the files for more comfortable viewing.
This digital option is also cost-effective; you can easily replace the file in a dynamic QR code with a new updated infographic. It is also eco-friendly, as you won't need to print and reprint materials.
Medicine and Drug Safety
The issue of counterfeit drugs remains a concern, posing a serious risk to public health. 11% of medicines sold in developing countries are counterfeit, leading to 144,000 deaths annually. The key to solving this problem is awareness. If people can distinguish fake medicines from real ones, they will not buy them. And QR codes RX can help with this.
Pharmaceutical companies can add a PDF format QR code to the drug packaging, which consumers can scan to verify the authenticity of the product. The QR code can display the product's serial number or a unique code, which users can enter on the company's website to ensure it is 100% safe and genuine.
Equipment Instructions
Proper use and care of equipment and machinery can help maintain them. To prevent misuse, hospital administration can create dynamic QR codes leading to manuals and guides. This could be a video QR code showing video instructions on how to operate the machine, or a document with detailed troubleshooting instructions in case of malfunction.
Patient Tracking
Medical QR codes can also be a great way to identify patients. Placing a QR code on each patient's tag allows nurses or caregivers to access their names, medical history, medications used, and more.
Hospitals can create PDF files with information about each patient, embed them in a QR code, and assign it to each patient. This allows staff to quickly access all the information with a single scan.
Staff Identification and Attendance System
Placing a QR code on the identification tags or cards of each employee allows you to include more information than would fit on a single card. You can use a QR code business card for this. Essentially, it is a digital business card that can contain personal details such as name, address, contact number, and even links to social media profiles.
Telemedicine Services
Make your telemedicine services more accessible to clients by using QR codes to provide doctor schedules, make appointments, and access your doctors' contact information. Additionally, hospitals can use a QR code with a URL to provide clients with easy access to Zoom or Skype meetings. By scanning a Skype or Zoom QR code, they can instantly join the call, without the need to manually enter the meeting link and ID.
Feedback and Reviews
People are more likely to visit establishments with a large number of positive reviews. Hospital management can take advantage of this by requesting patient reviews. They can create a Google form QR code, allowing clients to easily leave feedback. After scanning the code, users will find a Google form where they can leave comments and suggestions.
Real-Life Examples of Using QR Codes in Healthcare
QR Codes for Entertainment and Education
A rural clinic with 5 medical providers in southwest Iowa used QR codes throughout their clinic to direct scanners to information on various topics, such as back pain and smoking cessation. They also change the content seasonally to cope with common seasonal illnesses like flu and sunburns.
Public Health England Healthcare QR Codes
To prevent paralysis in the healthcare sector right after the pandemic began, Public Health England released guidelines to ensure safe but continuous services.
They used healthcare QR codes to distribute patient information leaflets (PILS), minimizing cross-contamination — a serious issue with printed leaflets.
Myanmar Ministry of Health QR Code
The Myanmar Ministry of Health used a dynamic QR code in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. It played a key role in monitoring public health and disseminating information while ensuring the safety of healthcare workers.
As dynamic QR codes have a tracking feature, healthcare administrators could easily collect data from their QR code generator's dashboard and publish it online in their observations of the 2019 coronavirus disease, which is much safer than manually keeping records.