GS1 standards in German hospitals
Dr. Oliver Gründel, Managing Director at AGKAMED, a purchasing group in Germany, spoke about global standards implementation in German hospitals.
The Global Data Synchronisation (GDSN), is seen as an important tool in Germany for suppliers, providers, Group Purchasing Organisations (GPOs) and hospitals so that they can share all the data needed for their processes, procurement and documentation in the hospitals.
The use of GLNs is important for standardising the reporting system from the suppliers to the GPOs and for locating departments in hospitals. Dr Gründel spoke about having one standardised barcode on products to improve documentation. He recommended that devices be labelled in the future with GTIN, and that Data Matrix should be the preferred barcode since it contains all information needed.
Dr. Gründel expressed his commitment to continue working on standardisation, integration and collaboration without frontiers.
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