GS1 bar code standards have been implemented into our core software but until very recently none of our life sciences customers have asked us if our solutions are GS1 compliant. I was wondering how important adopting the GS1 standards is to medical device and drug manufacturing companies. Is this something any of you are looking at right now or have you already implemented GS1?
In the UK 70 of our National Health Service (NHS) hospitals have adopted the standards and this is impacting their suppliers already. And in Canada a group of healthcare providers known as CareNET which represents 56% of Canadian hospitals have aligned with the GS1 Canada group to work towards implementing these standards in Canada. In the U.S the Healthcare Supply Chain Standards Coalition have also endorsed GS1 but as yet we as an identification and traceability systems supplier haven’t noticed a huge demand for GS1 compliant solutions. Is there a tidal wave coming? Maybe people haven’t realized the impact it could have on the identification and traceability systems and technology they are developing or specifying right now or maybe the existing systems, processes and procedures deal with GS1. I would love to hear your experiences and perspective on the importance and impact of GS1 in healthcare, pharmaceutical and medical device manufacturing.
For those of you that aren’t aware of GS1 I’ve posted an introductory GS1 White Paper which I thought might be useful. You can also find more information on the global GS1 website www.GS1.org where they have a section for healthcare and links to the country groups.
Dave T. (Product Manager, PRISYM ID)
Tags: Barcode Standards, GS1, Labeling Regulations
