Drogetracking

Drogetracking refers to the practice of monitoring and managing the movement and status of pharmaceutical drugs throughout the supply chain. This process is crucial for ensuring drug authenticity, preventing counterfeiting, and maintaining the integrity of medications from the point of manufacture to the end consumer.

The core objective of drogetracking is to provide a verifiable record of a drug's journey. This is often achieved through serialization, where each individual drug package is assigned a unique serial number. These numbers are then scanned and recorded at various points in the supply chain, such as during manufacturing, distribution, dispensing, and sometimes even by the patient.

Technologies commonly employed in drogetracking include barcode scanning, RFID (Radio-Frequency Identification) tags, and blockchain technology. Barcodes are a widely adopted method due to their cost-effectiveness and ease of implementation. RFID offers the advantage of faster scanning and the ability to store more information, while blockchain provides a secure, decentralized ledger for immutable record-keeping, enhancing trust and transparency.

Regulatory bodies worldwide are increasingly mandating drogetracking systems to combat the proliferation of counterfeit drugs, which pose significant health risks. Legislation like the U.S. Drug Supply Chain Security Act (DSCSA) and the EU's Falsified Medicines Directive (FMD) aim to establish robust traceability systems.

Effective drogetracking benefits manufacturers by improving inventory management and recall efficiency, distributors by streamlining logistics and reducing loss, and pharmacies and healthcare providers by ensuring they dispense legitimate and safe medications. Ultimately, it safeguards public health by assuring patients that the drugs they receive are genuine and have been handled correctly.