"Bar coding systems have proven their dependability and effectiveness by ensuring the accuracy of a myriad of actions in commerce and industry. We're now advancing the adoption of these systems in settings where they can save lives." Stated FDA Commissioner Dr. Mark B. McClellen. A ruling coming from the Food and Drug Administration will require bar codes on the labels of thousands of human drugs and biological products. By doing so, health care providers will be able to access a way to quickly check medications for proper dosage and determine that this is the correct drug as prescribed. It is thought that bar code technologies will help health care providers to avoid hundreds of thousands of medication errors in the future, thereby helping to save lives. Institutions already using these technologies report a reduction of errors by up to 85%. Reducing health care costs, patient suffering, and lost work time is estimated to cause an economic benefit of $93 billion over a 20-year period. Prescription drugs and certain over-the-counter drugs that are commonly dispensed by doctor's order will be included in this ruling. Blood and blood components intended for transfusion are already often marked including machine symbols identifying collection facility, lot number, product code, blood group and type. The ruling applies to drug manufacturers, repackers, relabelers, private label distributors and blood establishments that will need to comply with the new requirements within two years. New medications will be required to carry bar codes within 60 days of their approval. Hospitals, health care professionals, trade and professional associations are all agreeing that bar codes offer a great improvement in providing better quality care. One report from a study conducted at a Veterans Affairs Medical Center showed that 5.7 million dosages administered through a bar code scanning system found no errors. As this is repeated across the U.S. it can only further quality health care for all patients.