QR codes: an extra dimension.

• Position: TECHNOLOGY - Brief article

Quick response (QR) codes, which can be scanned by smart phone users that have a QR scanning application, are showing up everywhere, including on print advertisements, product displays, and web pages.

Most often, the code takes users to specific websites where they can find additional information or coupons. However, because the two-dimensional barcode can hold thousands of alphanumeric characters of information, its use is expanding in ways that could have information management implications.

For example, the manufacturer of MedFlash, a system for maintaining electronic personal health records, announced in August that it would begin adding QR codes to its users' emergency identification cards so first responders can scan them to retrieve emergency medical information. It is a great benefit, Connectyx said, because most first responders have a smart phone with them at all times, and QR scanning applications for these phones are available to download free from Apple, AT&T, BlackBerry, and many...