Dear Valued Subscriber:

Happy New Year from GS1 Canada!

It’s a new year and GS1 Canada is excited to share with you some of the initiatives our Healthcare and Pharmacy boards are working on for the year.

Safer more efficient care starts with a simple scan

Patient safety and operational efficiencies are among the top priorities for the sector. Our focus for 2017 is to support Canada’s healthcare sector achieve these goals by raising awareness and increase adoption of GS1 global standards.

Together we can improve patient safety while increasing transparency, traceability and interoperability within healthcare in Canada.

Click here to find out more about how standards can save you time, money and lives.

Other priorities for 2017, as identified by our healthcare boards and you, include:

Healthcare Pharmacy Sector Board:

• Making it possible for healthcare partners to exchange certified pharmaceutical product data and images
• Streamlining product recall and withdrawal notifications to help pharmaceutical suppliers and healthcare organizations attain Recall Ready status and be more efficient when administering product recalls

Carenet Healthcare Sector Board:

• Engaging the healthcare community in developing and implementing standards within healthcare, particularly in the areas of: new item listing, contract administration, order and inventory management, procure-to-pay (EDI), and product recall notifications.

Norfolk Hospital’s adoption of GS1 Standards starting 2017

Norfolk Hospital in Simcoe, Ontario has taken an impressive step forward in implementing GS1 global supply chain standard.

Starting with eliminating non-standardized location identifiers, Norfolk General Hospital will be sending Global Location Numbers (GLNs) instead of proprietary ‘ship to’ code in EDI purchase orders.

This will enable Norfolk to improve product traceability and reduce costs associated with inaccurate data and proprietary identification codes.

Example of how the implementation of GLNs can streamline complex administrative and supply chain management by using standardized location identifiers

Click here to find out how GLNs can save you time and money in your organization now.

HealthPRO releases videos highlighting the need for critical market changes

HealthPRO hospital members have released a series of videos highlighting critical product and market changes required to enhance patient safety and supply chain efficiencies, including the importance of a GS1 barcode on a pharmaceutical product’s unit-of-use.

The videos were first released in the Fall of 2016 during an event gathering more than 50 pharmaceutical companies to raise awareness of these necessary changes and help drive critical transformation forward.

Videos featuring compelling input from pharmacists and technicians from across the country can be found on the HealthPRO website (in English only).