CDC 2D Vaccine Barcoding Pilot Nearing Sign-up Deadline

For family physicians who count immunizations as one of the many services they provide, the CDC is funding a two-dimensional (2D) vaccine barcoding pilot project that is scheduled to begin in August. The pilot is gearing up to begin installing scanning equipment and training participants, but there is still time to enroll. According to Erin Kennedy, D.V.M., M.P.H., a medical officer in the CDC's Immunization Services Division, "2D barcoded vaccines have a number of potential public health benefits, which include decreasing errors in recorded immunization information and improving patient safety." The sign-up period for the project, which will assess the challenges and determine best practices for documenting vaccine encounters using 2D barcodes, comes to a close in late February.