Australia
Improving Consumer and Patient Safety in Australia – A Collaboration with Industry and Government
Maria PalazzoloCEO, GS1 Australia
CEBIT 2011 eHealth Conference
Improving Consumer and Patient Safety in Australia – A Collaboration with Industry and Government
Maria PalazzoloCEO, GS1 Australia
Australia
GS1 Initiatives supporting the Consumer/Patient Safety Agenda
• Delivering a national product recall portal: GS1 Recallnet
• Leveraging the National Product Catalogue for healthcare items
• GS1 Locatenet: healthcare location management
• Access to trusted product information: the rise of MobileCom
• There are still challenges ahead
Australia
“An E. coli outbreak that is ravaging Germany and other parts of Europe is on pace to set a global record…at least 14 people have died and more than 1,200 have been sickened – 329 seriously – by a rare strain of E. coli ”
A problem in need of a global solution: German food safety officials have yet to pinpoint where E. coli entered their food chain…. food‐safety experts say the solution is a more robust global recall system.
There is no universal labelling system for food; a wholesaler might work with 10 different labelling or packaging systems from different suppliers recalls are extremely tough to manage.
John Keogh, senior vice‐president responsible for product safety and recalls for GS1….said the solution is a global standard for product recalls. Developed by GS1 over the past two years, the system has already been implemented by Canada and will be launched in Australia in August.
Globalisation coupled with poor traceability systems puts consumers at risk
Source:GLOBAL FOOD REPORTER— From
Tuesday's Globe and Mail
Published Monday, May. 30
Australia
In 2010 the ACCC completed a review of the Australian product recall system…….10,000 recalls over 23 years. Surprisingly ……..
only 57% of goods were returned
‐ 72% returned in Healthcare
‐ 36% returned in Food
Consumers and patients are at risk for many reasons
AustraliaThe Number of Recalls is Growing
• Therapeutic Goods account for over 46% of all recalls and it is by far the fastest growing category
• Food Product Recalls has steadily accounted for ~ 9% of all recalls
• These numbers don’t take into account all withdrawal notifications which do not need to be reported
AustraliaHow can we improve the situation…
• The review has resulted in 12 actions by ACCC across “four broad aspects of the recall system” that can be influenced to bring about greater efficiencies in the recall process.
• These 4 categories are:1. Notification of the product recall
2. Communication of the product recall
3. Retrieval of the recalled product
4. Closure of a recall
AustraliaBusinesses will need to take action…
• The ACCC report found “the ability to track and trace products, especially high risk products, will improve recall effectiveness”
• “To enable effective tracking, the ACCC will encourage suppliers to have systems in place to track products and retain records that reflect the movement of products through the supply chain. Greater ability to identify particular batches of product ….would mean recall action could be limited to fewer products”…
AustraliaACCC notification is now mandatory…
Businesses have just 48hrs to notify the ACCC when they become aware that products they are supplying have or may harm consumers.
Productivity Commission recommendation in 2006
Australia
So how is GS1 collaborating with Industry to improve consumer and patient safety?
So how is GS1 collaborating with Industry to improve consumer and patient safety?
AustraliaGS1: A global organization
• GS1 is a global not‐for‐profit organisation HQ in Brussels comprising 108 national member organisations servicing 1.3 million companies across 24 industry sectors.
• The GS1 System of supply chain standards is the most widely used in the world.
• GS1 Australia is a not‐for‐profit industry association operating under Sole License to the International GS1 organisation.
• GS1 Australia supports over 16,500member companies across 21 industry verticals on a user pays, cost recovery basis.
AustraliaCurrent Healthcare recall process
• Uniform Recall Procedure for Therapeutic Goods provides overarching guidance and is currently under review
• Administered by TGA and recognised by the ACCC
• However there are many areas that can be improved to reduce compliance costs, increase patient safety and lower risks to businesses
Australia
GS1 Australia is working with Industry to develop a
web based portal for the management of Recall and
Withdrawal notifications.
AustraliaGS1 Recallnet for healthcare will…
• Provide a single notification system
• Enable more efficient, targeted and standardised communication
• Ensure recipients have data required for the accurate ID and retrieval of recalled goods
• Provide a auditable repository of recall notification data
• Modernise the recall system based onglobal traceability standards, best practices and scalable technology
AustraliaWho is involved?
AustraliaGS1 Recallnet for Healthcare Recalls: Progress
Industry working group established late 2009Business requirements gathered during 2010Advisory Council launched Apr 11 Business requirements approved
• Development of pilot system now underway
• Industry Pilots ‐ Oct 11 & Feb 12 • Market Launch ‐ Apr 12• Implement further phases including
recall notification to individuals
AustraliaGS1 Recallnet in the Food Sector…
GS1 Recallnet for the food sector will launch Aug 2011.
Fully supported by industry, FSANZ and ACCC
FSANZ will be connected to the portal.
Australia
NEHTA & eHealth reform : National Product Catalogue
AustraliaNational Product Catalogue (NPC)
• Incl. item & price data• For all medicines, medical
devices and consumables• Healthcare data set
incorporating regulatory data, rebate codes, component details…
• Endorsed by all states and territories
• Currently 350 users and 150,000 healthcare items
• Accounts for approx 80% of Healthcare spend
• uses GS1 Global Location Numbers to identify entities and locations
AustraliaWhat is GS1Locatnet?
The first electronic location directory connecting Healthcare providers, suppliers and other supply chain stakeholders across
Australia
AustraliaGS1Locatenet is designed to….
• Be a single source for all relevant GLN data to the Healthcare sector initially then other sectors
• Validate GLN data and ensure accuracy
• Automatically alert subscribers to changes made to GLN data by their trading partners
• Comprehensive search engine for entire directory
• Transfer the ownership and responsibility for GLN data management to the owner/user
• Developed in collaboration with NEHTA and Industry
Australia
Consumers and patients want more information about the food they eat and the medicines they buy or are prescribed?
AustraliaCOAG Food Labelling Law and Policy Review
• Food Labelling Law review recently completed.
• The Terms of Reference stated that:• Food regulators currently have a very
limited range of enforcement tools• There is limited scope for innovative
approaches to labelling issues
• Likely lead to greater legislative requirements for Food Labelling
• Need to demonstrate that there are innovative approaches for Food Labelling issues eg extended labelling
Australia
What is Extended Labelling?
Australia
24
What is Extended Labelling?
Consumer/Patient/Product
Mobile phone Brand/Pharmacy/Buyer
Key concept: Consumer access to trusted product information or related services via their mobile phone
They receive the answer from a trusted source
A consumer/patient has a question about a product
or medicine they are buying.
They use their mobile phone to scan the
barcode on the label.
AustraliaAddressing the challenge: GS1 GoScan
GS1 GoScan is an iPhone application to make trusted product data accessible to users by scanning a product’s barcode.
Data is always sourced from and validated by the Brand Owner.
• Allergens• Ingredients• Country of Origin• Nutritional information• Usage and Storage Instructions• Dietary suitability and Certification• Company Data – Twitter, Facebook, etc
Australia
For example: GoScan will provide access to allergen data
Allergies have emerged as a major public health problem in developed countries during the twentieth century
Australia and New Zealand have among the highest prevalence of allergic disorders in the developed world.
The study reported:• 4.1 million Australian (19.6%) affected with at
least one allergy, of which• 2.2 million (55%) were female and 1.9 million
(45%) were male;• 78% of people with allergies are aged 15 to 64
years (working age population), and• 7.2 million cases of allergy
And the problem is getting worse
AustraliaKey challenges ahead
Continued collaboration with Healthcare industry stakeholders to:
• Increase adoption of global GS1 stds to improve product tracking & traceability
• Complete and launch the recall portal
• Further expand use of the National Product Catalogue
• Implement the GS1 Locatenet
• Expand Mobile Commerce solutions to connect consumers / patients with more information
Australia
Contact Details
GS1 Australia
Unit 100/45 Gilby Road
Mt Waverley VIC 3149
T 1300 366 033
W www.gs1au.org