The opportunities offered by the GS1 international standards in healthcare were discussed

Dr. Krasimir Angarsky, Deputy Director of the Saint Ekaterina University Hospital visited BCCI and met with the President of the Chamber and Chairman of the Board of GS1 Bulgaria, Mr. Tsvetan Simeonov. During the working visit, the opportunities offered by the GS1 international standards in healthcare were discussed.

Desislava Dimitrova, Expert at GS1 Bulgaria, briefly presented the advantages of introducing the GS1 standards in hospitals and medical facilities. Bar code identification both for patients as well as for medicines, cabinets, operating rooms, tools and equipment, facilitates hospital staff in their day-to-day activities, reduces mistakes in various manipulations and treatments, and increases patient safety, thus leading to an optimization of costs, which is a prerequisite for significant financial savings.

Mr. Simeonov presented the experience of several European countries and said that only by means of a quick scan with a mobile or computer device we can trace where and how we are treated. The patient's health record can be kept in one place, but shared with other institutions and hospitals through the use of an international identification system which facilitates the access to information through bar code labeling - a system already in place in dozens of hospitals around the world.

Mr. Simeonov expressed readiness on behalf of the team of GS1 Bulgaria to assist and acquaint the management of Saint Ekaterina University Hospital with the benefits of applying the GS1 international standards in healthcare, and above all with the benefits they can bring to help reduce costs and improve traceability in the hospital, in particular of the medicines, the manipulation, patient flow, etc.