The EDQM hospital medicine traceability guidelines aim at reducing medication errors and enhancing patient safety. It has been drafted by a Working Group and two Committees of Experts under the European Committee on Pharmaceuticals and Pharmaceutical Care (CD-P-PH), focusing on harmonised practices across member states.
The guidelines highlight the importance of full traceability, which involves the seven “rights” of medication administration. Manual processes are error-prone and inefficient, while barcode scanning and digitalisation offer safer, faster, and more complete solutions.
IT systems and processes vary due to hospital diversity, budget constraints, and governance models. Digitalisation requires cultural change, new roles, and strong IT support.
The guidelines aim to share best practices and encourage progress toward improved traceability and patient safety in hospitals through a regulatory framework for digitalisation and barcoding of hospital medicines at primary packaging level.