GS1 Data Care is an additional service for optimising medical device product data in GDSN for both medical device suppliers and healthcare institutions. Do you have a question? We have listed the most frequently asked questions with their answers for you below.
GS1 Data Source is GDSN's Dutch data pool including medical device product data.
GS1 Data Care is a new programme to optimise the quality of medical device product data in GDSN and internal systems. GS1 Data Care is an additional service alongside GS1 Data Source or a connection to another GS1-certified GDSN data pool.
Investing in GS1 Data Care is crucial because the programme responds to a clear market request. Both parties currently still do a lot of manual work, which is sensitive to mistakes and leads to failures. There has been a lot of back and forth, with suppliers often saying, ‘If hospitals stop asking for it, we won't do anything,’ while hospitals indicated, ‘We look in GDSN several times, but few suppliers provide complete and up-to-date data. We have to constantly chase suppliers, and with so many suppliers, it is not manageable.’
From this situation, the market definitely wants to get rid of it. The market has collectively stated that enough is enough and that everyone should act now and not keep waiting for each other.
GS1 Data Care offers a solution by ensuring consistent, complete and up-to-date product data through the GDSN system, which significantly simplifies communication between healthcare institutions and suppliers. This saves time, reduces mistakes and meets the growing requirements of national and international legislation for accurate product information.
Optimising data in GDSN is not about new data. We are talking about data fields that are already known from the Uniform Dataset. A dataset agreed with industry and professional associations and representatives of healthcare institutions and suppliers. This total set implemented in the ECHO data model. Once product data in GDSN is complete and up to date, you give healthcare institutions the ability to rely on the data and omit the Excel lists.
Investing in GS1 Data Care is therefore a step towards better data quality, increased efficiency and regulatory compliance, which ultimately benefits the overall functioning of the healthcare sector.
We will start with medical devices with risk class III. The attributes that will be started with are those that were provided during the Proof of Concept, such as; GMDN, Certificate information, reusability information, implantable, risk class and reference number (supplier number).
Follow-up on which products and attributes there will be data optimisation will be determined by the Governance group (mix suppliers and healthcare institutions)
Following signals from the market, GS1 started a Proof of Concept (PoC) in collaboration with the NVZ in April 2023 to see how the quality of medical device product data could be improved. In the period from April to August 2023, we looked at the following issues:
- How suppliers can complete missing information.
- Where processes stagnate at healthcare institutions due to a lack of information and how to collaborate on this.
- Technical implementation of checks on data.
In October 2023, the NVZ agreed to a national roll-out and the initiative was supported by the purchasing cooperation University Medical Centres.
The Governance Group is a group composed of suppliers and healthcare organisations. Together, they discuss possible extensions to the GS1 Data Care data optimisation programme. This takes into account wishes and possibilities of the various stakeholders.
- More products in GDSN allowing healthcare institutions to use more and more automated product data.
- Being able to submit and register complete information to the LIR.
- Insight into the validity of CE certificates.
- Insight into discrepancies between own article assortment and the supplier's GDSN product data.
- Improvement of own article assortment in internal systems (such as ERP or EPD).
- Centralisation of subscription management GS1 Data Source (by GS1).
As a supplier, participating in the GS1 Data Care programme offers you several benefits, including insight into how to improve the quality of your product data in GDSN and where to prioritise while optimising this data. We often hear from hospitals that data from medical device suppliers is incomplete. However, to create a product portfolio, hospitals need complete information before a product can be used. Due to the lack of reliable data, hospitals are often forced to fall back on requesting information via Excel.
Furthermore, medical device suppliers are given a data quality score, on which hospitals can base their purchasing decisions. Hospitals prefer suppliers that make optimal use of GDSN and for which they no longer have to request Excel lists. If hospitals can find the complete and correct information in GDSN, they can rely on this data and the use of Excel becomes unnecessary. This makes data exchange more efficient for both sides.
Not only hospitals have insight into the data quality score; suppliers can also see their own data quality score, as well as a benchmark of that score compared to other medical device suppliers. In this way, suppliers themselves can assess whether they are on the right track in exchanging product data.
We also work for GS1 Data Care with the GLN 8712345013257 GS1 Netherlands Healthcare. When all hospitals are connected, you only need to publish to this GLN to reach all Dutch hospitals.
In short:
- Awareness of current product data quality.
- One overview with the missing information in GDSN.
- Insight into validity of CE certificates.
- Support of customer compliance.
- Time savings, as GS1 centralises queries on missing information.
- Better insight into the data healthcare institutions are working with.
Contribute to optimisation within healthcare institutions
- Healthcare institutions have access to correct and up-to-date product data, reducing process disruptions that lead to queries, such as in the ordering process.
- Support scanning and promote patient safety in healthcare institutions' processes.
- Healthcare institutions have access to correct and up-to-date product data, reducing process disruptions that lead to queries, such as in the ordering process.
- Support scanning and promote patient safety in the processes of healthcare institutions.
There is a registration form for hospitals. We will contact you for the next steps.
GS1 Data Care is also available to clinics and other care bodies. A good thing to take into consideration when considering joining is that in the first phase the focus of the programme will be on high-risk medical devices, the focus will be extended over time, in consultation with the Governance Group, to the lower risk classes.
The invoice contains both the amount for GS1 Data Care and the adjusted cost under the new pricing for GS1 Data Source. Due to the new pricing, the amount may be higher or lower. The new pricing for GS1 Data Source can be found on our website.
The first invoice for hospitals is required for our internal process, it can be ignored. The second invoice is for the connection to the data optimisation programme GS1 Data Care and for the adjusted costs under the new pricing for GS1 Data Source. This is the actual invoice.
Supplying the necessary documentation via GDSN will make the process for file creation easier, but will not change the person responsible for file creation.
It is now possible! NVZ and NFU ask suppliers to connect to this in order to work together for reliable data. We now offer insight into product data quality for all medical device classes. In GS1 Data Care, the focus is currently on medical devices of risk class III. In time, we will expand this to other risk classes, with the schedule determined by the Governance Group.
Go to MyGS1 and order the Data Quality Programme service there, choosing healthcare sector. We will then contact you to get you further started.
The rates can be found on our website.
This GLN is used to do the checks in GS1 Data Care. Therefore, always publish product data to this GLN as well. All hospitals connected to GS1 Data Care will receive the data via this GLN. You then no longer need to publish to those hospitals separately.
All medical device suppliers can connect, regardless of which GDSN data pool is used. The focus within the programme is now on the optimisation of risk class III product data.
GS1 will start ‘chasing’ suppliers on improving the quality of data identified as scope for GS1 Data Care (concerns Class III medical devices and a group of data attributes). GS1 Data Care also gives suppliers insight into the data quality of the other attributes. Suppliers that supply incomplete data can always be reported to GS1 via healthcare@gs1.nl. As a healthcare institution, you can also always address suppliers yourself and include healthcare@gs1.nl in the cc.
From GS1 Data Source, you can establish a direct link with internal IT systems (such as ERP/stock management systems). This is where a solution partner can help. GS1 Data Care does not currently offer the option of importing the healthcare institution's article assortment via a direct link. This is currently only possible by manually importing an Excel. For the supplier, it uses the product data which the supplier shares through the Global Data Synchronisation Network (GDSN).
The Global Data Synchronisation Network (GDSN) already exchanges product data of risk class IIb, IIa and I products. GS1 Data Care also provides insight into the data quality of these risk classes. However, at the moment, GS1 Data Care is only focused on optimising product data for risk class III. Together with the Governance group, we will determine when we will also actively steer on optimising product data for the other risk classes.
GS1 Data Care is a programme established in consultation with (International) suppliers and Dutch healthcare institutions. At the moment, it only applies to the Dutch market. If your data is optimised for the Dutch market, it also has benefits for other target markets.