The Health Industry Business Communications Council® (HIBCC®) is an industry-sponsored and supported non-profit council, founded in 1983 to develop a standard for data transfer using uniform bar code labeling.

Bar code technology had already proven a valuable tool for reducing costs and human error in other industries, such as retail. In health care, the potential was even greater because of the impact errors can have on the quality of patient care.

The mandate to develop the Health Industry Bar Code (HIBC) Standard grew out of a task force hosted by the American Hospital Association, and composed of numerous other health care trade organizations.

HIBCC was formed to administer the Standard and issue the Labeler Identification Codes (LIC’s) which identify individual manufacturers and are included within each bar code. The LIC database now additionally provides the identifiers which are key elements in EDI transaction message formats and the HIBCC UPN® (Universal Product Number) Repository.

Our Mission

As an ANSI-accredited organization, our primary function is to facilitate electronic communications by developing appropriate standards for information exchange among all health care trading partners. Our broad mission has consistently expanded to meet the evolving needs of the industry, and has involved us in a number of critical areas, including electronic data interchange message formats, bar code labeling (and other automatic identification) data standards, universal numbering systems, and the provision of databases that ensure common identifiers.

Our current major activities have emerged as a result of this broadening focus:

• Standardized manufacturer, customer, and product identification codes, including the Labeler Identification Code (LIC), Health Industry Number (HIN®), and Universal Product Number (UPN®)
• The Health Industry Bar Code (HIBC) Standards
• Computerized EDI protocols in ASC X12 approved message formats
• Participation in national and international organizations working to further enhance electronic communications standards.

Today we play an important advocacy and educational role in the healthcare industry, serving as the forum through which consensus can be reached as we meet the evolving needs of twenty-first century commerce.

Contact HIBCC Today

Should you have any questions, please contact us at (602) 381-1091.