GS1 India hosts healthcare conference on ‘Navigating the Future of Healthcare’

GS1 India, a supply chain standards organisation set up under the Ministry of Commerce, Government of India, hosted the ‘Navigating the Future of Healthcare: From Vision to Reality’ conference at the India Habitat Centre, New Delhi. The event brought together 150+ participants including healthcare experts, government officials, pharmaceutical manufacturers, and industry leaders. The conference aimed to serve as a platform for the stakeholders to discuss strategies for enhancing healthcare delivery through standardised practices.

During the keynote address, S Swaminathan, CEO, GS1 India, emphasised the importance of collaboration among healthcare stakeholders to improve patient outcomes. “It is time for all healthcare providers and supply chain partners to align their efforts towards the well-being of our citizens,” he stated. Swaminathan highlighted how breakthrough innovations, including AI and 2D barcodes, are revolutionising healthcare processes and ensuring product authenticity and safety.

Vinod Kotwal, Member Secretary, NPPA, emphasised the need for product and product data enabling the vision of enhanced patient safety. She also discussed that technology must be harnessed to overcome supply chain challenges. 

Chandrashekar Ranga, Joint Drugs Controller (India) CDSCO, suggested that the need of the hour is global harmonisation in the healthcare sector and asserted that a simple barcode scan is needed to ensure unique identification of products which helps in the detection of falsified medicines and drug recall. 

Dr Upasana Arora, MD, Yashoda Super Speciality Hospitals, conveyed that barcodes are essential for ensuring uncompromised patient safety. She advocated for the adoption of digitisation, highlighting the growing prevalence of robotics, patient portals, and e-ICUs. Dr Sunil K Khetarpal, Director, AHPI, further asserted that patient-centric digital health initiatives should be undertaken to enable accessibility, affordability, acceptability, and availability.

Several industry experts discussed the ‘Role of AI in Healthcare: AI-Driven Proactive Care and Predictive Intervention.’ They explored the impact of AI on preventive care, diagnosis, and treatment alongside its regulatory aspects. The first panel discussion of the conference explored the scope of ‘Enhancing Drug/Medical Device Supply Chain Security through End-to-End Traceability.’ The panellists deliberated how end-to-end supply chain traceability can mitigate risks, enhance product recalls, and ensure regulatory compliance in the medical device industry.

In the session focused on ‘Role of Standardisation and Interoperability in Drug/Medical Device Registry Design, it was discussed how registries are key to managing healthcare data, enabling interoperability, and enhancing supply chain transparency. The panellists dissected their role in supporting efficient insurance claims and personalised medicine.

In their presentation, experts from USAID Lindabeth Doby, Rachel Smith, and Beth Anne Cusack underscored the need for ‘Global Harmonisation in the Healthcare Landscape.’ Another group of panelists discussed ‘Leveraging GS1 Standards for a Resilient Healthcare Supply Chain.’ They uncovered the benefits of interoperable 2D barcodes and standards in the healthcare supply chain.

Later in the conference, Senthil Rajaratnam, Director, Eli Lilly, conducted a knowledge session on the ‘Impact of Standards and Case Studies of Successful Implementations.’ During the session, he outlined regulatory requirements for barcodes on drug packaging, shared successful case studies, and offered recommendations for the industry. Geraldine Lissalde Bonnet, Vice President -Healthcare, GS1 Global, also spoke about ‘Navigating Regulatory Challenges in a Rapidly Evolving Pharma Landscape.’ She discussed the evolving global regulations and highlighted their impact on the industry.

The key speakers at the event also explored the regulatory landscape, including the recent mandates for QR codes on pharmaceuticals and their role in ensuring compliance and supply chain transparency. GS1 India invited stakeholders from the healthcare ecosystem to facilitate collaboration and drive innovation in the industry. The conference enabled industry players to engage with solution providers and enhance their healthcare delivery.

The conference concluded with a presentation on ‘Enhancing Patient Care with Medical Devices,’ featuring insights on the application of barcodes in detecting and reducing medical devices’ adverse events.