Pharmaceutical

The Healthcare Distribution Alliance (HDA) advocates for and oversees the use of the GS1 barcode standards in the pharmaceutical industry for its member companies, which include over 220 distributors, manufacturers, and service providers. Commonly used GS1 symbologies include:

Other barcode symbologies that are used in the pharmaceutical industry include:

DSCSA

In 2013, President Obama signed the Drug Supply Chain Security Act (DSCSA) into law. The DSCSA was created to govern the identification, management, and traceability of drug products within the US and will be implemented over several years. By the time it is fully implemented in 2023, the DSCSA will provide for:

  • Product identification

  • Product tracing

  • Product verification

  • Detection of and response to suspect products

  • Reporting of suspect products

  • Wholesaler licensing

  • Licensing of third-party logistics providers

GS1 Healthcare US offers guidelines for the pharmaceutical industry about how to use GS1 standards to meet the requirements of the DSCSA. For more information, refer to http://www.gs1us.org/industries/healthcare/gs1-healthcare-us-initiative/dscsa.

For more information about the DSCSA, refer to http://www.fda.gov/Drugs/DrugSafety/DrugIntegrityandSupplyChainSecurity/DrugSupplyChainSecurityAct/.