May 19, 2016 Industry news
HSJ coverage of our healthcare conference looks at the potential of GS1 standards to play a key role in transforming the NHS
HSJ’s four page article on our conference reports on the progress that’s being made through the adoption of GS1 standards in Acute Trusts in England, and the work that’s already underway at the Department of Health GS1 demonstrator sites. The article references many of our mainstage speakers, including our keynote speaker, Lord Prior, Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for NHS Productivity, who highlighted the importance of GS1 standards for the NHS:
“What can be achieved by something as prosaic as barcoding standards in terms of standardisation, in terms of patient safety, in terms of getting really deep and accurate costing around clinical practice, can be a hugely important part of the future of the NHS.”
Another theme of the conference was the importance of clinical engagement, with both Lord Prior and Professor Terence Stephenson, chair of the General Medical Council, referencing this in their presentations. Professor Stephenson admitted that this could be a challenge:
“Doctors are not luddites, they like technology, they like embracing new gadgets. But the trouble is they like it to be their own gadget – what they don’t like is standardisation, they like autonomy. So I think one of our challenges for us in GS1 is we have to get clinical leadership on board, we have to ensure the demonstrator sites demonstrate proof of principle, and then roll that out and make sure that we get the clinical community to adopt this.”
Download the full article (pdf)