Case Study: Major US Health Facility achieves improved insulin-pen labeling and patient safety with BarTender

BarTender solves complex labeling challenges in hospital insulin pen usage

Major US Health Facility Company faced a complex patient-safety challenge: insulin pens used at bedside must be single-patient, clearly identified, and marked with a room-temperature expiration that varies by brand (7–42 days), yet pens are small and traditional labeling systems were costly and unable to meet ISMP best-practice requirements (two forms of patient ID, Tall Man lettering, storage and drug info). To address this, the facility integrated BarTender label software into a custom solution built with RxTOOLKIT to meet their pharmacy’s precise labeling and interoperability needs.

Using RxTOOLKIT powered by BarTender, the pharmacy automated expiration-date calculations, enforced ISMP formatting (including Tall Man text and two patient identifiers), linked labels to national drug databases, and printed barcodes/QR codes for bedside access; a Clear Connect Label™ sleeve preserves manufacturer information while affixing patient data. BarTender-driven labels are now deployed across hospital pharmacies in the U.S., reducing the risk of pen mix-ups and calculation errors, speeding nurse access to dosing information, improving staff confidence and efficiency, and helping streamline processes and lower costs.