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Healthcare traceability and GS1 standards

Tracking products across the healthcare supply chain eliminates counterfeit healthcare products, increases patient safety and complies with regulations.

What is traceability:

Traceability in healthcare enables you to see the movement of prescription drugs or medical devices across the supply chain. You can trace backwards to identify the history of the transfers and locations of a product, from the point of manufacture onwards. And you can track forwards to see the intended route of the product towards the point of care.

Traceability in Healthcare

Adoption and implementation of GS1 traceability standards

The Global Traceability Standard for Healthcare (GTSH), a process standard, provides a foundational framework which describes the traceability process and defines the minimum requirements for all stakeholders, independent from technologies, organization size or operational sophistication.

Healthcare supply chain integrity

EPCIS is a GS1 standard which enables trading partners to share information about the movements and whereabouts of products and assets through the supply chain based on four types of events:

  • WHAT – products are impacted?
  • WHEN – did this time-stamped event occur?
  • WHERE – was the product, where is it now?
  • WHY – was this observed, which process step?