Our Healthcare standards:
GS1
Peppol
Scan4safety

About GS1 healthcare

The development and implementation of our healthcare standards is led by the industry experts who use them.

Our healthcare user groups are open to pharmaceutical and medical devices manufacturers, wholesalers and distributors, group purchasing organisations, hospitals, pharmacies, logistics providers, governmental and regulatory bodies, and trade associations.

Our mission is to increase patient safety, supply chain security and effciency, traceability and accurate data synchronisation in healthcare.

GS1 standards endorsed by the industry
GS1 standards has won the endorsement of leading Healthcare stakeholders.

Global Healthcare User Group
GS1 Healthcare envisions a future where the healthcare sector integrates GS1 standards into supply chain processes for all relevant items, locations and people to drive patient safety and supply chain efficiency improvements. The Global Healthcare User Group brings together all related healthcare stakeholders, to lead the successful development and implementation of global standards in healthcare.

Local Healthcare User Group
Healthcare also has a local dimension, with local providers and national/regional regulations. Member Organisations have established local user groups around the world to tackle local healthcare challenges.

The speci?c local requirements collected by the Local Healthcare User Groups are fed into the development of global standards.

PEPPOL logo

What is PEPPOL?

Introduction PEPPOL is a set of artifacts and specifications enabling cross-border eProcurement. The use of PEPPOL is governed by a multi-lateral agreement structure which is owned and maintained by OpenPEPPOL.

PEPPOL is not an e-Procurement platform but instead provides a set of technical specifications that can be implemented in existing eProcurement solutions and eBusiness exchange services to make them interoperable between disparate systems across Europe.

PEPPOL enables trading partners to exchange standards-based electronic documents over the PEPPOL network (based on a 4-corner model). These documents include e-Orders, e-Advance Shipping Notes, eInvoices, eCatalogues, Message Level Responses, etc.

PEPPOL Access Points connect users to the PEPPOL network and exchange electronic documents based on the PEPPOL speci?cations. Buyers and suppliers are free to choose their preferred single Access Point provider to connect to all PEPPOL participants already on the network. (‘Connect once, connect to all’).

In this context, PEPPOL Provides:

Market enablement for interoperable e-Procurement solutions Standards based business process interoperability PEPPOL eDelivery Network and PEPPOL Transport Infrastructure Agreements which form the technical and legal basis for interoperability Simplification and improvement of the on-boarding process for buyers and suppliers who want to trade electronically.

PEPPOL Components

PEPPOL is based on three major pillars:

the network (PEPPOL eDelivery Network).
the document speci?cations (PEPPOL Business Interoperability Specifcations ‘BIS’)
the legal framework that defines the network governance (PEPPOL Transport Infrastructure Agreements – TIA)

In the Post-Award process, PEPPOL covers:

eCatalogues to exchange information about goods and services offered under the contract.
eOrders and eInvoicing providing the buyer and suppliers with de?ned procedures to share common business information. eDelivery Network, based on common national IT compatible standards and interconnecting eProcurement processes.

In the Pre-Award phase:

Pre-award artefacts will be introduced in 2017 as part of a dialogue on taking over responsibilities for eTendering results from The e-SENS Project

Scan 4 Safety Logo

Scan4Safety – Patient, Product, Place and Process

We are excited to be early adopters of GS1 and PEPPOL standards. We’re con?dent that through the adoption of these standards, we will improve everyday accuracy and efficiency within the NHS, ultimately improving patient safety:

Patient – improving safety, improving care
Product – everything recorded, everything accounted for
Place – everything trackable, everything traceable
Process – simplifying processes, releasing time to care

We are all at different points in our journey to implement the standards. Find out more about our individual progress and the latest benefits being reaped across all the sites:

Our Progress

The six demonstrator sites are all different. We vary in terms of size and scale and where we all started from before embarking on our journey to implement the standards. So whatever the make-up of your own trust, you should be able to find a role model from among our sites.

The demonstrator sites are currently working on implementing three core enablers required by the Department of Health:

Location numbering – We will be implementing Global Location Number (GLN) standards for the identification of unique locations. This will enable an event to be matched to a location, whether this relates to a person; an asset; a product or a service.
Catalogue management – We will be updating our catalogue management processes with GTIN information, to ensure that accurate and consistent product information is used consistently across the NHS.
Patient identification – We will be adopting GS1 barcoding standards for use on patient identity wristbands, enabling accurate identi?cation of the patient, with barcode scanning facilitating the upload of clinical data into patient records. Once these core enablers are in place, the demonstrator sites will then be able to implement three use cases around purchase to pay, inventory management and product recall.

Each of the demonstrator sites is working to key stage gates set by the Department of Health. Find out a bit more about the sites and the progress they’ve made so far:

Benefits

Scan4Safety – Committed to demonstrating the benefits of adopting standards, barcodes and common ways of working. As demonstrator sites, we aim to provide clear guidance and best practice and UKbased exemplars that all NHS Acute Trusts in England can learn from.

Similar to those systems used in shops by retailers, the introduction of barcoding standards will help us to better identify and match our patients, products, and locations.

From better patient safety and experience, to improved operational efficiency, the benefits are clear.

But don’t just take our word for it, see below for the latest real-life benefits already being realised within the demonstrator sites and what this potentially means for the wider NHS.

Across the six demonstrator sites, early signs of bene?ts are extremely encouraging, with over £700,000 of savings already being identi?ed:

Stock reduction/one off stock holiday – £233,000
Reduction in wastage/obsolescence – £462,000
Non-clinical pay efficiencies – £46,000 Based on these initial fndings, it is estimated that for a typical NHS Hospital trust, the benefits could be:

Time release to patient care – equivalent to 16 band 5 nurses per trusts, that’s 2,400 band 5 nurses across the NHS.
A reduction of inventory averaging £1.5 million per trust, £216 million across the NHS.

Ongoing operational efficiencies of £2.4 million per trust annually, that’s £365 million across the NHS.

The demonstrator sites will be publishing more detail here on all the various benefits they uncover so watch this space!