Track and Trace in Healthcare
Three initiatives within the healthcare industry are coalescing to make Track and Trace an important market for enterprise software and service providers.

1. Ecommerce

The infrastructure to conduct ecommerce, such as robust EDIINT applications and processes, enables cost-effective adoption of new models including subscribing to EPC read events.

2. Distribution Programs

Formal distribution programs have improved information sharing and accountability in the healthcare distribution chain. Provisions such as "single sourcing" from manufacturers create legal liabilities for distributors who source product from anyone other than the original manufacturer. Additionally, data sharing has been reframed to represent a billable service by distributors. Daily inventory reporting (852) and either daily or weekly reporting of product transfers (867) provide much of the content required for effective T&T. More importantly, the T&T framework provides a working model for negotiating the exchange of any new content important to T&T including lot number, expiry date, and serial number.

3. ePedigree Legislation
The third leg of the T&T stool is the state and Federal legislation around safe and secure supply chains. The FDA's endorsement of serialized tracking and pending ePedigree legislation are central to the evolution of the T&T market.

The combination of these three enablers lets each participant in the healthcare supply chain get a better view into exactly where legitimate products are and where specific breaches of supply chain safety are taking place.

With this new level of inventory visibility, a range of operational improvements may be enabled including increasing product in-stock rates while limiting recalls and returns

Implementation Areas:

• Product Security Data
  1. Product Security Data Repository
  2. Primary Product Identifier
  3. Product Lifecycle Events
  4. Product Status
  5. Product Location
  6. Product 1st Customer Destination
  7. Packing Levels and Packing Change
  8. Product Reference Data
  9. Data Integrity Checking
  
  
• Product Serialization and Authentication
  1. Serialization & Number Generation
  2. Manufacturer Internal Authentication
  3. End-User External Authentication
  
  
• System Administration
  1. System Configuration
  2. Power-User Privilege
  3. Monitoring, Alerts, and Notifications
  4. Internal-Facing Role-Based Security
  5. External-Facing System Security
  6. Logon Credentials
  7. Auditing
  8. Archiving
  
  
• Reporting/Analytics
  1. Ad-Hoc Reporting
  2. Standard Reporting
  3. Analytics
  4. Search
  5. Usability
  
  
• Usability
  1. Localization
  2. Data Entry Validation
  3. Display Personalization
  4. Online Help
  5. User Interface Medium
  
  
• 3rd-Party Product Security Service Integration