Scan4Safety and GS1 standards help save thousands of lives and millions of pounds across the NHS.
GS1 standards in healthcare
GS1 standards are unique identifiers used for the identification of every person, every product, and every place throughout the supply chain and patient pathway.
Underpinned by GS1 standards, the Scan4Safety programme was launched in 2016 by the Department of Health and Social Care across six NHS trusts in England.
Since then, several NHS trusts across England have been adopting Scan4Safety to improve patient safety, reduce unwarranted clinical variation, and drive operational efficiencies - all made possible with a simple scan.
Scan4Safety benefits
By adopting GS1 standards, information can be captured in one format so it can be easily shared and recognised by other systems, enabling greater traceability.
Data transparency is essential for offering the safest, most effective care to patients. It establishes a clear and accurate chain of custody throughout the care journey as products can be tracked and traced from manufacturer to patient.
When used nationally, this would make it easier and faster to respond to safety incidents should an error or product recall occur.
Scan4Safety in action
Transforming care with a simple scan
GS1 UK is one of 116 independent not-for-profit standards organisations operating worldwide, and is one of more than 70 Member Organisations working in healthcare.
We work closely with healthcare providers and suppliers to accurately adopt GS1 standards, and with solution providers to ensure their systems can do the same.
A large part also involves collaborating with regulatory authorities and central healthcare organisations to embed the standards in their systems and processes to help drive global traceability.
