Scotland’s NHS has signed a five-year agreement to allow it to roll out a system of unique barcode identifiers that will allow it to identify, track any product, medicine or medical device across the health care system.

It means any product can be traced from its point of manufacture to use – making it easier to recall if a safety issue is identified.

The deal with the organisation GS1 UK, which has set up and manages a set of globally-accepted identification and tracking systems, is part of a programme to meet the requirements of the UK’s post-Brexit Medicines and Medical Devices Act.

It follows the commissioning of a national inventory system for Scotland’s hospitals earlier this year.

The contract with GS1 UK will include access to the organisation’s LocationManager system, which allows products, the patient who has received it and the clinician who has requested it, to all be traced.

By adopting ‘GS1 standards’, the NHS in Scotland will follow its counterparts across the UK in bringing in a common language that allows tracking across different NHS systems and settings, and the ability to match individual patients with the medicines and medical devices they have been given as part of their treatment.

In England, an initiative called Scan4Safety was introduced across several trusts to adopt the standards and gather evidence on the impact of using the systems on patient safety and the amount of time being saved by NHS staff.

The Scottish government’s Director of Digital Health and Care, Jonathan Cameron, says patients and the wider NHS will benefit from the partnership to increase the adoption of GS1 standards:

“The aim is to enhance patient safety, reduce unwarranted clinical variation and drive operational efficiencies in Scotland.

“Driving greater transparency and interoperability into our healthcare system will not only provide us with the data needed, but will also be able to inform clinical decision-making which is a critical driver for improvement.

“The implementation of GS1 standards will go a long way towards delivering our goal of the provision of even safer and more efficient care for our patient population.”

Glen Hodgson, head of healthcare at GS1 UK, says the move will benefit patient care and the wider NHS:

“Because GS1 standards are both system and device agnostic, they allow for the seamless exchange of information beyond both system and organisational boundaries. This is the key to achieving traceability in healthcare and it is here where the true value lies.

“The principles of the Scan4Safety programme were built on the adoption of these standards in clinical settings and doing so has already realised significant benefits for the sector – saving thousands of lives and millions of pounds across the NHS.

“We look forward to collaborating with the Scottish Government and NHS Scotland as part of this partnership, to support the execution of their strategic healthcare objectives over the next few years.”

 

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