Supply chain, traceability and patient safety
Rob Drag, Scan4Safety Programme Manager at the Salisbury NHS Foundation Trust in the UK shared the positive outcomes gained through their implementation of GS1 standards for patient identification and GS1 barcode scanning to help save time for clinical staff.
The project has confirmed the need to ensure the clinical staff are adequately consulted both before and during implementation. In addition, testing is necessary to ensure both readability of the barcodes with the technology available as well as compatibility of IT systems.
The Trust’s future developments will focus on:
• Tracking catheters and cannulas: moving away from reactive product replenishment to capturing event data
• Radiology patient scans: scanning the barcode on patient wristband to confirm what area of the body is going to be scanned