PASA agrees supply chain standards

The uptake of standardised bar coding across the NHS supply chain will allow stakeholders to track and trace products and accurately identify and administer them – ultimately improving patient safety. The adoption of data standards will also bring benefits to the NHS outside the supply chain. Having a standard identification system will allow information within the NHS, such as a patient’s medical history, to be fully transferable, improving efficiency and providing a support mechanism at the bedside.

PASA’s recommendation follows a rigorous evaluation and comparison of several global coding standards, as described by NHS PASA chief executive, Duncan Eaton, “Over the course of the last year PASA has measured eight coding and data carrier standards against a set criteria from The Chartered Institute of Purchasing and Supply, in order to be in a position to make a recommendation for uptake across the NHS. We were delighted to find in EAN.UCC a standard that fully satisfied our key selection criteria.”

The recommended adoption of the EAN.UCC standard by PASA will apply to all suppliers in the total NHS supply chain for all products supplied to the NHS independent of supply chain entry level, across the 400 NHS trusts and health authorities under PASA’s guidance.