The recent notification by the Ministry of Health & Family Welfare on the implementation of QR code by the Top 300 Pharmaceutical brands is a step towards ensuring patient well-being and safety. But why stop at barcodes? While barcoding is important, the true foundation lies in streamlining data synchronization, sharing, and interoperability within the healthcare ecosystem.

Stakeholders across the pharmaceutical value chain, including patients, hospitals, and pharmacies, encounter numerous challenges that necessitate a holistic approach beyond barcoding. Counterfeit drugs, medication errors, supply chain inefficiencies, and the need for seamless communication are just a few examples.

Standardised 2D barcodes provide stakeholders with the means to verify drug authenticity, improve medication accuracy, enhance supply chain visibility, and facilitate efficient information exchange.

Several industries have successfully implemented barcoding to streamline their operations. However, it is crucial to recognise that their success was not solely due to barcoding itself but rather the comprehensive integration of data management. For instance, in the retail sector, barcodes revolutionised inventory management by seamlessly connecting point-of-sale systems with inventory databases.

By adopting a data-driven approach that goes beyond barcoding, the pharmaceutical industry can unlock a myriad of benefits for all stakeholders involved.

Patients: Implementation of standardisation empowers patients by providing critical information about medication authenticity, expiry dates, and dosage instructions.

Hospitals: Integrating traceability within the pharmaceutical supply chain enables hospitals to effectively monitor and trace medications, mitigating the presence of counterfeit drugs and optimizing inventory management. Real-time access to reliable information minimises medication errors and enhances patient safety.

Pharmacies (Retail and Online): For pharmacies, barcodes streamline the process of verifying product authenticity, ensuring accurate dispensing, and efficient stock management. Barcode scanning technology enables quick verification, reducing the chances of dispensing incorrect or expired medications.

Regulators: The use of GS1 global standards enables worldwide interoperable product identification, capture, and sharing of data. This supports the efficient and cost-effective management of the healthcare supply chain. Most regulations for traceability and product recall around the world are aligned with global trends on the identification and application of 2D barcodes on various levels of packaging. Thus a regulator can get visibility into the drug recall process as required.

Pharma supply chain being global in nature, there is a need to embrace global standards and best practices. The government on its part has taken, now it is the turn of the industry to ensure that the momentum is not lost and that they need to come together and work cohesively to ensure patient safety.

To realise the full benefit of the implementation of 2D Barcodes/QR Codes, not only the Top300 brands but also all other pharma brands supplying in the domestic market need to implement the same in a time-bound manner, so that all stakeholders can benefit from it. To harness the full potential of barcoding, it is imperative to prioritize data synchronization, interoperability, and comprehensive data management.

By learning from successful examples in other industries, we can create a streamlined, data-driven ecosystem that revolutionizes patient safety, optimizes supply chain operations, and empowers all stakeholders involved in the pharmaceutical value chain.

The writer is CEO, GS1 India