The Pharmaceutical Journal
Vol 273 No 7322 p593
23 October 2004

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English NHS settles for EAN standard product coding

A standard product coding system — European Article Number Uniform Code Council (EAN.UCC) coding — has been recommended as the principal product coding system for use in the NHS in England.

The NHS Purchasing and Supply Agency (PASA) said that the only exceptions should be products that are already coded using the HIBC format, which can be used for the foreseeable future. HIBC is a code developed by American health care companies.

Suppliers using other barcode systems have been strongly advised to change to the EAN.UCC system as soon as possible.

The recommendation has been made following a PASA evaluation of options and standards for the automatic identification and tracking of products supplied to the NHS.