
Why GTIN in the healthcare sector?
To ensure that the right healthcare product reaches the right patient, in the right place, at the right time and with the right dosage, unique identification of healthcare products is essential. GTINs, combined with batch and serial numbers, provide traceability of medicines, medical devices and other healthcare products from production to patient.
Alternative solutions
In the past, NTIN (Nordic Trade Item Number) and product codes were used in healthcare. However, NTIN had some limitations, including the inability to uniquely identify different packaging variants of the same product. This, together with changing market conditions such as mandatory package leaflets, parallel imports and the digitisation of the entire prescription and dispensing process, made a switch to GTINs necessary.
GS1’s solution
GTINs identify healthcare products and medical devices and make them visible throughout the supply chain, all the way to the patient. This visibility enables the traceability of both medical products and medical devices, which is necessary for evalutation outcomes and improving safety. Additionally, GTIN serves as an authentication of the product. It reduces the risk of counterfeit healthcare products infiltrating the supply chain and protects patients from potential harm.
Benefits