BRIEF—Report raves about benefits of falsified meds directive

The European Union Falsified Medicines Directive (FMD) legislation, introduced to prevent fake medicines, has also brought about the standardization of medicinal product identification and common 2D barcodes on all prescription medicinal packs.

This enables hospitals to leverage further opportunities which were difficult to achieve before this level of harmonization and barcoding prevalence.

A report from Be4ward, the supply chain transformation consultancy, has considered these other benefits that can be gained in the hospital setting. The report has been commissioned by the trade group the European Federation of Pharmaceutical Industries and Associations (EFPIA).

Benefits identified included the use of barcoding and product identification to bring impressive financial benefits to those hospitals which leverage them. In one hospital alone, they were able to save £4 million ($5 million) through the reduction of over-ordering products. These savings can be used to offset the costs of implementing and operating the EU FMD within the hospital setting.

The report can be accessed here.