GS1 Philippines is promoting the use of barcode technology in healthcare. This technology can help health professionals work more efficiently and improve patient safety.
The World Health Organization’s Global Strategy on Digital Health 2020-2025 emphasizes how digital technology can transform healthcare. Innovations like data storage tools, remote data collection, and virtual care can improve health outcomes. They help with better medical diagnoses, treatment decisions, digital therapies, clinical trials, and support evidence-based knowledge for healthcare workers.
Building on this global vision, GS1 Philippines advocates the use of global standards and barcode technology to make digital information easier to access for healthcare workers. This helps improve workflow efficiency and tackles problems in the medical supply chain.
Using GS1 Standards helps health manufacturers and distributors store data in clinical systems, making data capture faster and more accurate. Healthcare providers can use these barcodes for patient identification, giving medications, and tracking medical supplies and equipment. This approach improves inventory management and makes the overall workflow more efficient.
“Integrating barcode technology is not just about digitalization — it’s about creating a safer, more transparent healthcare system that improves patient care, reduces errors, and ensures an efficient supply chain of authentic medicines and medical products, protecting patients from counterfeit goods,” said Teodoro Padilla, Executive Director of the Pharmaceutical and Healthcare Association of the Philippines (PHAP) and Trustee of GS1 Philippines.
The organization recently took part in the GS1 Healthcare Roadshow in Hong Kong, where healthcare professionals learned about the transformative potential of barcode technology. The organization also participated in the GS1 Asia-Pacific Forum 2024, which brought together over 150 delegates from GS1 Global and 16 Asia-Pacific economies.
GS1 Philippines’ initiatives align with the Department of Health (DOH) in addressing challenges in digitalizing the healthcare system and improving access to essential medicines. The DOH aims to enhance healthcare accessibility for Filipinos through technology integration.
GS1 Philippines is preparing local industries for the global switch to 2D barcodes by 2027, aligning with international standards. This initiative aims to enhance the country’s competitiveness and help healthcare providers utilize GS1 DataMatrix for improved operations.
For more information about GS1 Philippines’ implementation of GS1 standards and membership, visit https://www.gs1ph.org/ or email membership@gs1ph.org.
Leave a comment