Healthcare Access at the ‘Beep’ of a Barcode

The bar code has evolved over time. Currently, it can store prices, ingredients, manufacturing and expiration dates, as well as other relevant data for medicines, medical devices, and other health supplies. Although at first glance they all look the same, new trends are emerging, such as 2D or codes like QR and Datamatrix, which have the ability to capture unprecedented amounts of trusted data for the benefit of governments, businesses, and consumers alike.

Thanks to technological, barcodes are being transformed and becoming key elements in the pharmaceutical and healthcare sectors because they allow the intercommunication between drug information and patient clinical data to facilitate the creation of the digital medical record and the electronic medical prescription, essential elements for better public healthcare.

In the healthcare sector, the bar code benefits all members of the supply chain. For example, it allows us to know the "history" of a drug product, from its origin and drug substance to the identification of expired products and their correct prescription by institutions or health professionals. In addition, it helps to combat counterfeiting and promotes patient safety, as it is an element that provides transparency and reliability.

Just as we talked about how the barcode contributes to the operability of the entire healthcare ecosystem, it is essential to highlight that, for this to become a reality, it is necessary not only to have state-of-the-art digital platforms that group together all the medicines, medical devices, and supplies available on the market, but also to be able to consult their indications, characteristics, and stock. Fortunately, there are already positive experiences in this regard, such as the Syncfonía platform, a B2B tool considered to be the most reliable electronic catalog of product data used by commercial chains in Mexico and Latin America.

Through the data science contained in this digital platform, a retailer, a pharmacy or a hospital can know the physical characteristics of the formula presentations in order to plan the arrangement of the merchandise or know if the product is still in circulation. Likewise, health specialists can be nourished with information to be more efficient in their consultation, diagnosis and prescription schemes, which facilitates patient access to and acquisition of medicines or medical devices.

According to the Federal Commission for the Protection against Health Risks (COFEPRIS), electronic prescriptions for some medicines can now be issued. These platforms allow them to be filled in a prompt manner. It is worth mentioning that the use of bar codes in the healthcare sector makes it possible to have better control of the entire supply chain; from manufacturing until the product reaches the hands of the end consumer. This is known as traceability and ensures that only legal medicines circulate, preventing the sale of counterfeit, adulterated, expired, or recalled products.

To face the challenges demanded by healthcare in Mexico and to be highly competitive in a constantly evolving sector, such as the pharmaceutical industry, it is essential to generate public-private partnerships to ensure that traceability and standardization of information permeate systematically, in order to help with the correct distribution, supply, and final disposal of the medicines.

The most successful healthcare systems worldwide have a common denominator: they have embraced technology and created a digital health model to make them more efficient, safe, and sustainable for the benefit of the patients and healthcare professionals.