The Tatmeen Project was started by the Ministry of Health and Prevention (MOHAP) in the UAE as a way to strengthen and safeguard the nation’s healthcare supply chains. With advanced pharmaceutical safety solutions, the program improves the UAE’s standing among leading nations.
The main goals of this Tatmeen program are to safeguard public health and enhance population happiness, reliability, and sustainability, which calls for the creation of best-in-class solutions using digital technologies and clear and simple procedures that engage all stakeholders.
With the Tatmeen project, the MOHAP will be able to directly boost the public’s interest in health by utilizing a powerful serialized drug track and trace system that will profit from the most recent technological advancements. Drugs sold in the UAE will be tracked by the drug track and trace program using distinctive GS1 standard serialized barcodes from a single central command center. The inspectors will be able to scan barcodes at pharmacies and hospitals to discover phony and counterfeit medications.
In this article, we go into greater detail on the GS1 standard terminologies of the UAE’s serialization process.
Serialization
Serialization is the process of giving each unit of a salable pharmaceutical item a unique serial number. Each prescription drug comes with information regarding its place of manufacture, batch number, and expiration date.
GS1-128 barcode
It is licensed exclusively to GS1, an international, non-profit organization that creates and upholds its own standards for barcodes and the associated issuance company prefixes. It is the subset of Code 128 symbology. Using GS1 Application Identifiers, this symbology, which is incredibly adaptable, encodes element strings.
Global Trade Item Number (GTIN)
It is the GS1 identifying key, which is used to uniquely identify products all over the world. It may be encoded in different kinds of data carries here it is GS1 DataMatrix. At any level of packaging, the GTIN can be utilized to distinguish different product categories (e.g. Consumer unit, secondary package, case, pallet, etc.).
Global Location Number (GLN)
It is a globally unique GS1 identification number, any place that has to be uniquely identified in the supply chain can be identified using the Global Location Number (GLN). Both physical locations and legal entities can be identified using the GLN.
Serial Number
Each unit of a product with a GTIN is uniquely identified by its serial number. A product’s serial number cannot be used once again for the same product. The length of the serial number is 20 alphanumeric characters maximum.
GS1 Application Identifier (AI)
It is the set of two or more numbers that, when placed at the start of an element string, specifically determine its format and meaning.
Batch No/ Lot Number
It contains the information that the manufacturer thinks is important for the trade item’s traceability.
Expiry Date
It is a date beyond which a product should no longer be utilized, either due to law or because perishable items have passed their estimated shelf life.
Aggregation
It is the process of defining a hierarchical relationship between a containing object (a.k.a parent) and one or more other objects (a.k.a children) that are contained in it. In the aggregation process, the parent is uniquely identified.
Serial Shipping Container Code (SSCC)
It is the GS1 identifying key that is used to identify logistical units, which can be any collection of products that have been packaged together for storage or transit, like a case or a pallet.
The GS1 DataMatrix’s preferred encoding order for application identifiers is shown in the above picture.
An example of an SSCC on a logistical unit that is aggregated and barcoded with a GS1-128 barcode.
Conclusion
On December 13, 2022, each participant in the pharmaceutical supply chain had a GLN. Given that so many of them are still unfamiliar with the Tatmeen process, the participants should get a clear understanding of what these terminologies mean.
FACTS Computer Software House is a software company that helps you with Tatmeen onboarding, including serialization, aggregation, and all in accordance with the Tatmeen requirements.