GS1 set to bring trusted information to patients through collaboration with Google

GS1 and Google have announced a breakthrough that extends the power of the GS1 DataMatrix, a Next Generation Barcode printed on millions of healthcare packages, to smartphones. Using Google tools such as Google Lens, users will be able to scan healthcare products directly – no separate app required. Each scan will be capable of opening a trusted source of information from the manufacturer or an authorised data provider. This new capability will give patients, caregivers and healthcare professionals instant access to trusted information online, opening a new era for patient safety.

While the functionality is now available through Google Lens, broad access to trusted information will depend on adoption by manufacturers. GS1 is working with several global companies to implement this capability and encourages all pharmaceutical and medical device manufacturers to make their product information available online so that patients everywhere can benefit. For businesses in New Zealand distributing healthcare products from other countries, we encourage you to work with your supply chain partners to understand their plans to leverage this new functionality.

Why bringing trusted information to smartphones matters now

Safe use of healthcare products depends on clarity at moments of uncertainty. Too often, vital information is difficult to locate or hidden behind systems not designed for public access. This can create a gap between the information manufacturers make available and what patients can read when they are about to use healthcare products.

Making GS1 DataMatrix barcodes scannable through standard smartphone tools bridges the gap between trusted data and everyday access. If these changes are embraced, patients will be able to gain clarity and confidence by easily checking information with a simple smartphone scan. Clinicians will gain a simpler way to confirm what is in front of them, and manufacturers will gain a direct way to share relevant information with the people who need it.

A foundation of open standards and digital integration

The GS1 DataMatrix is printed on healthcare packaging around the world since its formal adoption almost 2 decades ago, mainly to assist the supply chain and to facilitate key production data such as batch, expiry date and serial numbers to be recorded down the supply chain and right up to the point-of-care such as a hospital bed or operating theatre. What is significant now is that Google is enabling the standard to be read natively using tools already on billions of phones. This capability does not replace national traceability systems or hospital information flows - but it can complement them. It establishes a universal and common layer of access that can strengthen and sit alongside national programmes. To encourage further innovation and interoperability, supporting components will be made available openly, enabling developers and solution providers to integrate GS1 DataMatrix scanning into their own systems.

Advancing global transparency

This milestone advances GS1’s Vision for interoperable and trusted healthcare data that serves patients as well as regulators, manufacturers, and healthcare providers. It shows how global standards and technology infrastructure can deliver value not only to supply chains and regulators but to the patient holding a product in their hands.

A symbol already found on billions of healthcare products now has the ability to deliver value to the people it was ultimately designed to protect, ushering in a new era of patient safety.

Read the GS1 New Zealand press release for more details.