Why should my hospital implement GS1 standards when I already have local formats & processes in place?

Using your own local format introduces cost, the risk of error and overall inefficiency. Use of GS1 global standards helps to ensure patient safety, increase efficiency and reduce cost.

To improve the patient journey throughout the healthcare system locally we need to ensure what is held and referred to in one department and / or facility can be acknowledged and shared with another.

Healthcare is a global sector, with supply chains that often cross borders, so a global standardised system for traceability, from product manufacture to patient treatment, is imperative. In cases of cross-border trading, a GS1 Global Trade Item Number (GTIN) can be used to identify that product in any country without any restrictions or errors.

The McKinsey Report, Strength in Unity states that more than 65 legislations or requirements from around the world can be met with GS1 global standards. This provides a foundation on which hospitals can implement product identification and traceability.  As a result the majority of manufacturers in healthcare are using GS1 standards in order to gain efficiency by healthcare providers leveraging these efforts rather than creating an alternate solution.

Simply put, as more and more suppliers apply GS1 barcodes, your hospital can make use of these barcodes and there is nothing you need to do, because the barcodes are already applied to the products. Even more, you can trust these barcodes are good since often these are driven by legislation. The advantage is that you can realise supply chain traceability by using these barcodes: the supply chain stays intact.

Considering internal processes, your hospital should be able to realise barcode scanning at the point of use, automatic delivery checks, inventory control and dispensing controls based on the GS1 identifiers and barcodes applied by your suppliers.