GS1 UK Healthcare Conference - why standardisation really matters
Best ever healthcare conference had one central theme – how to improve operational efficiency, patient experience and safety through GS1 standards
London, 15 April 2016 – The GS1 UK Annual Healthcare Conference 2016 took place on 12 and 13 April with great success, and was attended by more than 350 professionals from the healthcare sector. Lord Prior, Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for NHS Productivity, who was the keynote speaker of the event, highlighted the potential for transformation that the GS1 programme offers to NHS Acute Trusts. In Lord Prior’s words, “the NHS is an efficient system that can do better… barcoding standards will improve safety and give millions in savings”.
Conference speakers and delegates shared their expertise and experience on a range of topics including patient safety, regulatory compliance, operational efficiency, transparency, FMD legislation, sustainability and others. They all focused on the benefits of GS1 standards and how standardisation means more time for patient care, better understanding of costs, better comparison of clinical performance and exposing variations in clinical practice.
Professor Terence Stephenson, Chair of the General Medical Council emphasised that senior hospital doctors should engage in a leadership role in the GS1 program as the data it provides can support better clinical productivity and improve patient care.
Representatives from all six GS1 demonstrator sites, whose implementation of GS1 standards is funded by the Department of Health, presented on what it means to be a demonstrator site, how GS1 standards improve patient outcomes, clinical effectiveness, efficiency, patient safety and finances.
Pat Mills, Commercial Director of the Department of Health led the call to action for the adoption of GS1 standards beyond the demonstrator sites. In his words, “the GS1 programme is incredibly important, especially in these times of great austerity, and will provide a way of liberating some of the millions of pounds invested every year in the NHS. The demonstrator sites will prove that we get this value for money but it’s through their implementation across England that a real difference will be made”.
Glen Hodgson, Head of Healthcare at GS1 UK, said: “We’re very proud that our latest healthcare conference was so well received and managed to showcase real-life best case examples of NHS Trust implementation of GS1 standards. During the two days we provided a unique environment for Trusts to share their experiences with other providers and discuss how we can all work together to make the NHS a safer and even more efficient organisation.”
At the event we also proudly raised over £4,000 for our charity partner, The Silver Line – which aims to support older people with the effects of loneliness.
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About GS1 UK
For further information or requests for interviews, please contact Tim Haidar: 020 7092 3584 / Tim.Haidar@gs1uk.org.
GS1 UK is a community of over 29,000 members working in retail, foodservice, healthcare and more. GS1 UK is one of 112 independent, not-for-profit GS1 organisations operating across 150 countries worldwide. GS1 UK helps everyone involved in making, moving and trading goods, automate and standardise their supply chain processes using the common language of GS1 global standards.
For more information contact:
Jen Horsman
Instinctif Partners
+44 18 6935 3806
jen.horsman@instinctif.com