Blackberry handhelds to read bar codes?
A new device allows BlackBerry handheld computers to read bar codes, a capability that should make them more popular among health care providers.
The device, called LaserField, integrates data collection software from Vancouver-based Flowfinity Wireless Inc. and a bar-code reader from Infinite Peripherals, based in Irvine, Calif. Bar code-enabled BlackBerrys will help track inventory and will speed data entry, Flowfinity said in a statement.
Bar codes are used in less than 5 percent of hospitals to ensure that patients receive the right medications. But more than 35 percent of hospitals ranked as “most wired“ use some sort of electronic means to match patients with medications.