Cluster solution
Thailand's healthcare system takes steps to eliminate medication errors
- Published: 14/02/2012 at 04:34 AM
- Newspaper section: Life
Every year medication errors account for around 10% of overall mistakes that are blamed for some 100,000 deaths in the US, and though no such statistic is available for Thailand, this unnecessary loss of life has been a niggling source of concern.
Patients taking medicines prescribed by doctors, however, have reason to be confident now that major hospitals in this country, four medical schools and pharmaceutical firms have applied to standardise their operations to international level by forming the Thailand Healthcare Cluster, which in the initial stage comprises some 11 organisations.
The goal is to develop an innovative healthcare system for better patient safety and efficiency in the supply chain management. The Cluster has applied to GS1's Global Trade Item Number (GTIN), the global unique identification number used to identify trade items including products and services that are sold, delivered, and invoiced at any point in the supply chain. GTINs are assigned by the brand owner or manufacturer to identify the products as they move through the global supply chain to hospitals and ultimate end users.
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About the author
- Writer: Sasiwimon Boonruang
- Position: Life Writer
