Enhancing Patient Safety and Interoperability with GS1 Standards and Services

GS1 is a global partner in the healthcare industry that plays a pivotal role in enhancing patient safety and interoperability. As a global leader, GS1 supports organisations throughout the entirety of the clinical supply chain, from global and local manufacturers to healthcare providers. Our standards and services are instrumental in ensuring product identification, managing recalls, and facilitating a clinically integrated supply chain.

GS1 Standards: A Pillar of Patient Safety

At the heart of GS1’s contribution to patient safety are Global Trade Item Numbers (GTINs). These unique identifiers ensure the right product is identified and used at the point of care. By digitising this process and integrating it into healthcare technology, the risk of sentinel or never events is drastically reduced. This digitisation not only ensures accurate product identification but also opens opportunities for enhanced patient safety.

GS1 Services: Ensuring Efficient Recall Management

In addition to GTINs, GS1’s industry-based Recall Health platform, is a service that enables efficient management of medical product recalls. This platform is a critical tool for healthcare providers, ensuring that any product recalls are handled swiftly and effectively, thereby safeguarding patient safety.

Facilitating Interoperability with GS1 Standards

GS1 standards are integral to various business processes in the clinically integrated supply chain. GTINs, Global Location Numbers (GLNs), and Global Service Relation Numbers (GSRNs) are used to identify products, physical locations, organisations, caregivers, and care receivers. The National Product Catalogue, acting as the source of truth for product master data, ensures up-to-date information is available at every point in the process. This interoperability creates opportunities for the right product to be easily located and issued to the right patient, further enhancing patient safety.

GS1 and Unique Device Identification (UDI)

Looking ahead, the TGA’s upcoming Australian Unique Device Identification regulations, to be introduced in 2024, will revolutionise the identification of medical devices in the clinical supply chain. As a recognised issuing agency, GS1 will play a key role in linking devices to patients for traceability.

Case Study: The Scan4Safety Project

The successful implementation of GS1 standards is evident in the UK’s Scan4Safety project. This initiative demonstrates how effectively GS1 standards can be leveraged to enhance patient safety and supply chain efficiency. https://www.gs1uk.org/industries/healthcare.

GS1’s Role in Tackling Healthcare Challenges

GS1 has made significant strides in addressing challenges in the healthcare sector, particularly in the areas of master data management and preventing product misapplication. The National Product Catalogue serves as a single source of truth, ensuring accurate and reliable product data is always available. Additionally, scanning GTINs at the point of care prevents the wrong product from being applied, further enhancing patient safety.

With the upcoming UDI regulations and the continued use of GS1 standards, the foundation is set for enhanced patient safety, efficiency, and real-time informed decision-making in a complex, clinically integrated supply chain. GS1’s commitment to improving patient safety and interoperability is clear, and our role in healthcare will be vital in the years to come.

Learn more about UDI standards in Healthcare https://bit.ly/48aVk1n.

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