Over the last several years, the global health community has made significant investments in the adoption of global standards for traceability in the supply chain, aiming to increase visibility and availability of high-quality and safe essential medicines at the last mile. This quick guide provides key considerations for countries contemplating the implementation of centralized approaches for pharmaceutical verification and tracking and tracing of pharmaceuticals, including people, process, and technology factors. It focuses on centralized traceability approaches in healthcare based on GS1 standards, including use of the GS1 EPCIS standard that enables trading partners to share information about the physical movement and status of products as the products move through the supply chain.
This quick guide is intended for use by national authorities and implementers who would design a national centralized traceability system, including:
- Ministries of health
- Regulatory authorities
- Development partners
This quick guide provides a summary of information in existing resources to highlight key considerations for countries contemplating the implementation of centralized traceability approaches. For more detailed information, please see these resources:
