The barcode can be considered one of the great innovations of the 20th century. This automation technology allows for more detailed transaction information and, consequently, greater responsiveness to people's needs. In addition to security, there is a reduction in operational costs.
Other advantages of barcodes are:
- Increase the level of accuracy
- Better traceability
- The practicality of handling by those who work
Another very important aspect is that the barcode is used throughout the supply chain, from the manufacturer to the end consumer.
In history, the barcode was created and patented by Joseph Woodland in the USA in 1952. According to Wikipedia, it is a graphical representation of numeric or alphanumeric data. The decoding (reading) of the data is performed by a type of scanner – or barcode reader.
The data captured in this optical reading is understood by the respective device, which in turn converts them into human-readable letters or numbers. Its use is very common in several areas: industry, commerce and services, although in the health sector its use is still low in many countries.
Basic barcode mechanism
The barcode for products works in the EAN-13 standard and serves as identification in the store's point of sale system.
Any product such as food products, CDs and DVDs, clothing, apparel and shoes, among others, use EAN-13 barcodes.
The only exceptions are books and controlled medications.
Firstly EAN-13 means that it necessarily needs to have 13 digits, the distribution is:
1) The first 3 digits represent the origin of the organization responsible for controlling and licensing the numbering.
2) The next digits can vary from 4 to 7 and represent the identification of the company that owns such prefix;
3) They represent the product identification and are assigned by the manufacturer, when it has its own prefix, and vary from 2 to 6 digits;
4) The last digit 7 is called the check digit and mathematically confirms that the preceding digits are correct, this serves to avoid erroneous readings;
5) Just to indicate the end of the code.
It is worth noting that the second numbers vary from company to company, as do the third numbers, the check digit that identifies the item, which must always be recalculated when necessary. Therefore, each of the different items in a company has its own specific barcode number, which is why a body is needed to regulate and control this system. This body, which operates in 150 countries, is known as GS1.
There are numerous types of barcodes, the most commonly used ones should take into account the following aspects:
- The information that will be printed
- Substrate where printing will be performed
- Place where it will be used
- Local regulations
- Readers installed in the chain
Custom code | Forma | Function | Data contained |
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EAN/UPC | ![]() |
Developed specifically for point-of-sale (POS) scanning. Widely used worldwide due to its agility in capturing information. | GTIN |
Databar | ![]() |
It comprises a family of codes that can be scanned at the POS. It can be much smaller than EAN/UPC codes and still decode additional information, such as serial number, batch number and/or expiration date. It is a worldwide trend to use this code in the fruit and vegetable (FLV) sector and other perishable products. |
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Code 128 | ![]() |
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data matrix | ![]() |
Two-dimensional symbol for special applications that allows information to be encoded in spaces smaller than linear codes and to add additional information, such as product code, batch and expiration date. Main code in the hospital segment to allow the identification of very small objects and enable their traceability. |
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ITF-14 | ![]() |
Barcode designed to encode only GTINs, can be printed directly on the corrugated substrate (cardboard box) offering good reading performance. Cannot be used to identify commercial items that will pass through the point of sale. |
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QR Code | ![]() |
QR codes are dense black modules arranged in a standard box shape on a white background. It is a more sophisticated form of barcode that can contain 100 times more information. |
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Reader types and application
Adjustable
USB: These are state-of-the-art readers that send information more quickly. They do not require additional power, as they obtain it through the connection.
PS/2, Keyboard Interface: When the decoder is required to be a keyboard decoder, or for data to enter the application as if someone had a keyboard, what is known as keyboard wedge, which connects to the keyboard input of the computer or terminal.
RS232 (Serial): Scanners that connect to the RS-232 interface (or serial interface) require special software that retrieves the information sent by the barcode scanner and decodes it.
Bluetooth or Wifi: Readers with Bluetooth or Wifi transmit information in real time to the desktop without the need for cables. Communication occurs via radio frequency.
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Handheld readers: There are readers with or without cables. They are light and ergonomic, ideal for stocks, among others, and have a wide range of varieties and prices.
Fixed Readers: Widely used in ordering processes and sorting systems that require high speed. Allows the operator to work with both hands, typically applied to commercial automation solutions.
Types of Codes
Linear readers: The cheapest ones only read linear barcodes, meaning they cannot interpret information from QR Codes or Datamatrix.
2D/PDF Readers417: They can read a large number of barcode symbologies, including codes considered 2D, and are capable of scanning images such as signatures or defective codes. Perfect in environments where it is necessary to ensure correct reading.
The integration of barcodes with IT systems and the new traceability law in Brazil
The constant practice of counterfeiting medicines and cargo thefts led ANVISA to create specific legislation to control medicines throughout the country. From 2007 to 2011, ANVISA collected data and, together with the Federal Police Department, concluded that 10% of the medicines sold in the country were counterfeit.
In 2009, Law 11.903 was published, determining the creation of the National Medication Control System (SNCM), from production to consumption. Medication tracking must be done using technology to capture, store and transmit electronic data for pharmaceutical products throughout the country.
All secondary packaging of medicines must have the GS1 Datamatrix code, making information such as the IUM (Unique Drug Identifier) that groups the GTIN (Global Trade Item Number), ANVISA registration number, serial code, batch and expiration date mandatory. This data must be directly related to the product registration with ANVISA and the CNPJ of the company holding the medicine registration.
The movement of medicines along the pharmaceutical product chain can occur in an aggregated manner, for this reason the code, IET (Transport Packaging Identifier), was created when one or more IUM are packaged in a transport package.
A RDC 157/2017 defined the members of the SNCM drug movement chain and the roles that each one must play:
- Registration Holder (Industry)
- Distributor
- Conveyor
- Dispenser (Drugstores, Pharmacies and Hospitals)
Roles may vary depending on the event instance being communicated.

Each member of the drug movement chain is responsible for transmitting to the database all records regarding the movement of drugs under their custody.
For the system to correctly follow the processes of the horizontal chain (industries, distributors, transporters, drugstores, hospitals), the synchronization and alignment of data between the companies' systems will ensure that the updated information increases the accuracy of the data between the companies and ANVISA, seeking harmony of processes with successful implementations, so that the impacts of the traceability system are smaller, in addition to fewer movement errors that can generate anomalies.
To this end, the communicators' software must be able to assemble and disassemble the Transport Packaging Identifiers (IET) and Unique Medication Identifiers (IUM), as the method of communication with ANVISA will be unique.
ANVISA developed a pilot project where technological standards and business rules were defined that will be used in the SNCM.
The Pilot Project has a test environment, where the movement teams of industries, transporters, distributors, suppliers and dispensers such as drugstores, pharmacies and hospitals must exercise their processes more, so that when the system starts, errors that could be corrected earlier do not occur.
SNCM will be very important to improve drug safety, but it is necessary to go beyond the barcode. More than two systems working together are needed for better control and safety.
The new law does not meet the security needs of hospital traceability, however, it will be an important step forward in the security of the entire population that uses medicines in pharmacies, drugstores and hospitals.
It is well known that every process requires intervention and may suffer some type of error, whether intentional or not. However, when it comes to human lives, this error can have serious consequences, so it is not enough to simply perform the tasks. Mechanisms must protect and preserve drug information, increasingly reducing errors.
Within hospitals, the traceability of medicines is the responsibility of Hospital Pharmacy, in storage centers and places where the process takes place unitarization of medicines.
A unitarization of medicines It is the process of packaging and identifying them, so that they can circulate through the hospital in a personalized and controlled manner and be administered to patients in a safer manner.
The process can be done manually or by machines:
- The unitary packaging (or single dose) that the medicine will receive
- The label printing (or direct printing) that the new packaging will receive
A unitarization of medicines, in addition to improving their control throughout the hospital and in stocks, it also differentiates their packaging and eliminates possible handwriting errors, thus contributing to the reduction of Adverse events: results in greater security in its administration and in communication with the professionals involved, in addition to reducing waste of materials and medicines.
Adding more information is extremely important for better communication between the Pharmacy and Nursing, since approximately 70% of sentinel effects are due to lack of information.
No unitarization process, preserving the information from the primary packaging for the new packaging is the biggest challenge, and unit-dose packaging equipment has this objective.
For that it is necessary:
- Create protection mechanisms
- Good practice procedures
- Use the highest level of automation possible
- Keep employees motivated and trained
Example of unit-dose packaging
The information presented on the packaging can be called Layout, which are texts, images, barcodes, among others.
Essential information such as Active Ingredient and dosage of the medicine, validity, batch, laboratory, CRF and name of the Responsible Pharmacist are fixed and must always be legible on all medicine packaging.
The variable information on unit-dose drug packaging changes and should have the main purpose of helping with the safety and administration of drugs (warnings, alerts, routes of administration).
In addition to the greater security offered by unit-dose packaging through machines, the technology has automatic methods for stocking medicines and greater administrative and financial efficiency, avoiding large expenses and wasted time in controlling stock and inventories.
Therefore, the use of barcodes for all possible operations allows greater control and security of the products and systems used.
For medicines, the Datamatrix code will also be essential for greater safety and better control, in addition to reducing errors, which can cost lives.