CUHK Medical Centre Drives Smart Healthcare Excellence with GS1 Standards & Solutions

With a compelling vision rooted in the triple aims of healthcare — improving patient experience, enhancing population health, and reducing costs, CUHK Medical Centre (CUHKMC) set out to be a smart hospital in Hong Kong. CUHKMC saw opportunities to enhance supply chain efficiency, medication safety, and optimise data management and traceability.

CUHKMC has identified GS1 standards and solutions as the fundamental element in realising the smart hospital strategy, encompassing smart medicine with fully electronic records, smart care through mobile applications, and smart management leveraging IoT and automated solutions.
 

Solution – GTIN, GS1 DataMatrix & ezTRADE

CUHKMC implemented GS1 standards and solutions across various aspects of its operations, focusing primarily on supply chain management and medication management.

In the supply chain, CUHKMC adopted a closed-loop system using GS1 standards, incorporating EDI (ezTRADE) for automated order processing, GTIN (GS1 barcode) for unique product identification, and GS1 DataMatrix for capturing vital product information, such as batch numbers and expiry dates of drugs.

In medication management, it implemented barcoding for automated dispensing systems (Therapick for inpatients, Automatic Tablet Dispensing & Packaging Machine for outpatients), and EMedcart with RFID for bedside medication storage/administration.

_{* Automated dispensing systems can accurately identify, select, and dispense the right medications for individual patients within hospitals using GS1 standards; and automatically count, dispense and package the required medications into clearly labeled individual doses upon receiving a prescription for outpatients.}

Numerous Benefits Realised

The implementation of GS1 solutions brought significant benefits to CUHKMC, for example the adoption of the ezTRADE allows seamless electronic communication of purchase orders, delivery notices, and invoices between CUHKMC and its suppliers, thereby enabling proactive management and validation of product deliveries.

Supply chain visibility and efficiency improved dramatically, with reduced manual data entry and associated errors. Real-time tracking enhanced inventory management, while communication with suppliers and warehouse providers became more streamlined.

Substantial improvements are noted in the area of patient safety, through accurate medication identification and reduced medication errors by using GTIN and GS1 DataMatrix. The Hospital experienced enhanced efficiency in medication dispensing and administration, along with better tracking and tracing of pharmaceutical products.

Data integrity and transparency across the supply chain has improved, facilitating better information exchange with external partners and enabling faster, more accurate product recalls when necessary.

GS1 standards and solutions helped CUHKMC with:
•    Improved medication safety by enhancing accuracy in medication dispensing and administration
•    Enhanced operational efficiency by reducing manual data entry and checking 
•    Optimal stock control and rapid product recall capability by real-time drug traceability 
 

•    GTIN (GS1 barcode)
•    GS1 DataMatrix
•    ezTRADE

CUHK Medical Centre (CUHKMC) is a non-profit, private teaching hospital wholly owned by The Chinese University of Hong Kong (CUHK). With a social mission to bridge the service gap between the private and public healthcare systems in Hong Kong, CUHKMC is dedicated to offering quality healthcare service at transparent and affordable package fees. In line with the not-for-profit principle, all surpluses from the Hospital will be ploughed back to the Hospital for hospital development and the CUHK Faculty of Medicine for research and teaching.