By Lucy Phillips | 10 June 2011
A single bar code system is to be introduced for procurement across the NHS in an attempt to make millions of pounds worth of savings, the government announced today.
Health minister Simon Burns said a standard bar code system, called GS-1, would be used on products across the health service to make it easier to track and compare purchases.
Some hospitals are currently paying almost three times as much as others for the same items, such as surgical gloves and stents, he revealed. The move would also improve patient safety, he said, citing evidence that bar coding systems reduced medication and surgery errors.
Some £6bn is currently spent on NHS procurement each year.
Burns said: ‘The NHS cannot afford to continue paying different prices for the same products. By simply using bar codes, NHS procurement will become more efficient as organisations can see how much they are paying for products compared to others. It’s a simple idea that could save the NHS millions.’
Although suppliers to the NHS will not be forced to label their products with the single code, ministers said it would become essential for those wishing to operate in the UK health market and they expect all NHS products to carry GS-1 bar codes by the end of 2012.
