Use of QR and EAN-13 codes by older patients taking multiple medications for a safer use of medication

• Elderly patients taking multiple medications care of several people.
• TUMEDICINA is a first attempt to apply technology and QR barcodes to prevent medication errors.
• TUMEDICINA can be especially useful for patients over the care of different people.

BackgroundOlder persons following a prolonged complex drug regimen often make mistakes when taking their medication. Currently, the widespread use of tablets and smartphones has encouraged the development of applications to support self-management of medication.ObjectiveThe aim of this study was to design, develop and assess an app that transforms medication-associated ean-13 (barcodes) and Quick Response codes (QR) into verbal instructions, to enable safer use of medication by the elderly patients taking multiple medications.MethodsMeetings were held in which participated a total of 61 patients.ResultsThe results showed that patients appreciated the application and found it useful for safer use of medicines.ConclusionsThe study results support the use of such technology to increase patient safety taking multiple medications safety.