HL7 and GS1 Develop Global Standards

HL7, a not-for-profit standards organization based in Ann Arbor, Mich., and GS1 have signed a memorandum of understanding to develop global standards for improving patient care. GS1 is a not-for-profit organization that provides global standards to improve supply chain management, based in Brussels, Belgium.

GS1 says it aims to adapt existing global supply chain standards to the specific needs of the healthcare sector. The organization's global standard for automatic identification (through bar codes and radio frequency identification) has the potential to increase healthcare supply chain efficiency by enabling traceability and reducing counterfeiting, says the organization.

According to HL7, its clinical interoperability standards, such as the Version 3 Messaging Standard, increase the effectiveness in exchanging, managing, and integrating electronic healthcare information.