Turkey postpones medicine serialisation roll-out

A Turkish programme aimed at rolling out a national 2D datamatrix barcode system for medicines has been put back to October 1 in the face of implementation difficulties and opposition from some stakeholders.

The ITS (Ilac Takip Sistemi) scheme started to roll out on July 1 with some early-adopters already placing the serialisation codes on their products. Compulsory use of the codes has been set back to October 1, but there are concerns that the deadline for mandatory implementation may be set even further back if logistical obstacles cannot be overcome.

The aim of the system is designed to allow full tracking of healthcare products - including prescription and over-the-counter medicines and dietary supplement products - from their importation or production in the country through to the point of dispensing in the pharmacy. 

Some products - such as peritoneal dialysis solutions, enteral nutrition products and some medical foods - are excluded from the system until January 1, 2011.

A GS1-compliant 2D barcode carrying a unique identifying code is placed on the pack by the manufacturer or importer and will be scanned at each point in the supply chain, with the tracking data held on a centralised database managed by the Turkish Ministry of Health.

At the point of dispensing the pharmacist receives a yes/no message indicating whether it the medicine should be dispensed.  Counterfeits, as well as expired or recalled medicines, can be picked up at this point, according to the project directors.

The tracking data will be retained for a period of three years after the expiry of the medicine's shelf life, according to the ministry.

Although Turkey is recognised as being a major distribution hub in the counterfeit medicines trade, ranked fourth in the world according to data from the Pharmaceutical Security Institute, the initial aim of the project was actually to combat rampant reimbursement fraud in the country which is estimated to cost the state around $150m a year. Securing the supply chain from counterfeit, substandard and diverted medicines is an added benefit.

Most of the opposition to the system comes from smaller pharmacies, which are balking at the cost of buying and implementing the scanner system for the scheme, estimated to cost around $150, and any related equipment such as an updated IT system. For some pharmacies that can represent a week’s profit, according to Roger Bate, writing in the Journal of the American Enterprise Institute.

Semih Gungor, head of the Association of Istanbul Pharmacists, told the Cumhuriyet newspaper that many pharmacies would go out of business as a result of the programme and consumers may have problems obtaining medicines. He also claimed that counterfeit medicines are a negligible problem in Turkey.

Pharmacists in Turkey are also concerned that once the scheme is mandatory, they will have to throw away medicines that do not carry the barcode. Gungor claims that pharmaceutical manufacturers will not accept return of unused medications, so the pharmacists will also have to bear the write-off costs of the disposal.

Turkey’s healthcare system will not reimburse any product without the 2D barcode, once the scheme is fully operational.

Another article in Today’s Zaman points out that many prescription-only medicines can be brought freely over the counter at pharmacies, and there is a thriving barter trade between pharmacies which swap products without any record of the transaction.


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