Use of QR and EAN-13 codes by older patientstaking multiple medications for a safer use ofmedication

Abstract

tBackground: Older persons following a prolonged complex drug regimen often make mistakeswhen taking their medication. Currently, the widespread use of tablets and smartphones hasencouraged the development of applications to support self-management of medication.Objective: The aim of this study was to design, develop and assess an app that transformsmedication-associated ean-13 (barcodes) and Quick Response codes (QR) into verbal instruc-tions, to enable safer use of medication by the elderly patients taking multiple medications.Methods: Meetings were held in which participated a total of 61 patients.Results: The results showed that patients appreciated the application and found it useful forsafer use of medicines.Conclusions: The study results support the use of such technology to increase patient safetytaking multiple medications safety.