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Benefits beyond the EU Falsified Medicines Directive – The hospital setting

European Statement

Patient Safety and Quality Assurance

Why was it done?

The purpose of the report was to investigate and share what benefit opportunities exist because of the introduction of the EU FMD barcode.

What was done?

EFPIA, the industry association, commissioned a report to investigate what benefits had occurred in the hospital setting, following the introduction of the EU Falsified Medicines Directive (EU FMD).

www.be4ward.com/benefits-beyond-eu-falsified-medicines-directive/

How was it done?

The author worked directly with Guy’s and St Thomas’ NHS Foundation Trust in the UK and AZ Sint-Maarten in Belgium. In addition, he reviewed various relevant case studies and publications.

What has been achieved?

The report demonstrates benefits exist at all points in the hospital supply chain, where packs are handled, stored and processed. Opportunities also exist to web enable the product to provide digital content and services to healthcare providers and patients.

The introduction of standardised barcodes and product identification enables hospitals to leverage benefits opportunities which were difficult to realise before this level of harmonisation and barcoding prevalence.

• The costs of operating the EU FMD can be minimised, integrating with normal operations and leveraging the use of conveyor systems and robotics are successfully reducing the workload impact by up to an expected 80%.

• Barcodes and product identification brings impressive financial benefits to those hospitals which leverage them. In one hospital they were able to save £4 million through the reduction of over ordering products. In another, the improved accuracy and speed in the recharging of procedures identified £840K in lost revenues in a single year.

Scanning barcodes, is being used to deliver value across all three of the benefit opportunity areas: Improved Patient Safety, Enhanced Clinical Effectiveness and Operational Efficiencies. It is possible to offset the costs of EU FMD implementation and operation through the additional benefits.

What next?

Share the report findings to enable hospitals to leverage the opportunities of the EU FMD barcode.

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