In effort to reduce mistakes in dispensing medicines, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration is proposing new rules that will require bar codes on all medications.

The FDA estimates it will cost pharmaceutical companies $50 million to add bar codes to all of their products. Hospitals and other medical facilities could spend some $7 billion on computers and scanning equipment.

Experts say it is money well spent as bar codes could save dispensing errors that cost $3.9 billion annually, not to mention the danger to patients. The FDA expects the use of bar codes over 20 years will prevent over 400,000 adverse drug reactions, ranging from headaches to death. A 1999 study showed that some 7,000 deaths alone were caused by drug errors.

Veterans' hospitals are already in the forefront in this movement to bar coded medications. Doctors enter prescription information into a computer. The system then crosschecks information on the patient, such as age, weight, diagnosis and other medications currently being taken, before the drug is released.

Before administering the drug, a nurse at the bedside scans the bar code on the medication bottle as well as a bar code on the patient's hospital bracelet. The system determines if it is the right medication and patient, as well as provides dosage and dispensing instructions. An alarm sounds if a match does not exist.

The veterans' hospitals using the system report that virtually all drug errors have been eliminated.

The FDA is currently soliciting comments on the proposal for a 90-day period before issuing final rules.