1. Using Inventory Management
  2. Healthcare Industry Barcode labels

Healthcare Industry Barcode labels

You can scan barcoded labels in the Health Industry Barcode (HIBC) format when using a mobile device to populate data in scannable fields without any additional setup.

The Health Industry Business Communications Council published the HIBC format in 1983 to address the unique safety requirements for labeling medical products. The HIBC format is commonly used by manufacturers, suppliers, and providers in the healthcare industry to account for the more stringent safety and security considerations not typically found in commercial retail settings.

The Configure Barcode Formats setup task includes a predefined configuration to support scanning HIBC barcodes encoded with the manufacturer part number, serial number, lot number, lot expiration date, and lot origination date.

HIBC Barcode Format

The HIBC barcode format uses the character + as the barcode identifier. The HIBC barcode format may include primary and secondary information as specified by the Health Industry Business Communications Council.

The primary data includes a 4-character labeler identification code, a 1- to 18-character product number, a one-digit unit of measure identifier, and a single check character. The product number is mapped to the manufacturer part number in the predefined configuration. For example, +A123MFG1001Q is a HIBC barcode with primary data. In this example,

  • + is the barcode identifier.
  • A123 is the 4-character labeler identification code.
  • MFG100 is the manufacturer part number.
  • 1 is the unit of measure Identifier.
  • Q is the single check character.

When you scan the above barcode in an Item Number field that's enabled for barcode scanning on the mobile page, the application finds the item associated with the manufacturer part number MFG100 and populates the item number in the Item Number field.

The secondary data includes the serial number or lot number and expiration date. For example, +A123MFG1001/$$525015ABC123T is an HIBC barcode format with primary and secondary data. In this example,

  • + is the barcode identifier.
  • A123 is the 4-character labeller identification code.
  • MFG100 is the manufacturer part number.
  • 1 is the unit of measure identifier.
  • / is the delimiter that separates primary and secondary data.
  • $$5 is the identifier to indicate that the data element includes an expiration date in the YYJJJ format (Julian Date format) and a lot number.
  • 25015 indicates the expiry date is 15 January 2025 in the YYJJJ format (Julian Date format).
  • ABC123 is the lot number.
  • T is the single check character.

When you scan the above barcode in the Lot Number field, the application extracts and populates ABC123 in the field. Similarly, if you scan the barcode in the Lot Expiration Date field, the application extracts and populates 2025-01-15 in the field. If you scan the same barcode on the Item Number field on a page that also has a Lot Number field, the application automatically extracts the item and lot number from the barcode and populates them in the respective fields.

The HIBC barcode format may also contain additional supplemental data added to the secondary data string. It's used when a manufacturer wants to include the lot and serial number in the same barcode or to include additional information like the date of manufacture. For example, +A123MFG1001/$$525015ABC123/16D20111231E is a HIBC barcode format with primary, secondary, and supplemental data. In this example, 16D is used as the identifier for the date of manufacture in the YYYYMMDD format. If you scan the barcode in the Lot Origination Date field, the application extracts and populates 2011-12-31 in the field.

Additionally, you can define and scan custom barcode formats with multiple data encoded within a data identifier. For example, you could define a configuration for a barcode format like $L+040124121224ABC123, with an expiration date and origination date encoded along with the lot number. In this example,

  • $ is the barcode identifier.
  • L+ is the lot number identifier.
  • 040124 is the lot origination date in the DDMMYY format.
  • 121224 is the lot expiration date in the DDMMYY format.
  • ABC123 is the lot number.

Use the Multiple Data Elements and Sequence Number fields in the Configure Barcode Formats setup task to support this. The Multiple Data Elements field indicates whether the data identifier contains multiple values. The Sequence Number field is used to indicate the sequence of the data. You start by entering a parent record for the data identifier, indicating that the data identifier contains multiple data elements. Then, you add a child record for each of the data elements encoded in the barcode using the data identifier.

To configure barcode formats, see Configure Barcode Formats in the Implementing Manufacturing and Supply Chain Materials Management guide.