A medicine pack is equipped with a randomized unique serial number (serialized), which is encoded along with the batch number and expiration date in a two-dimensional Datamatrix barcode. This makes the medicine pack uniquely identifiable within the supply chain.
An anti-tampering device in the form of a seal or a special adhesive label indicates whether the pack has been opened or tampered with.
Before a patient receives a medicine in a pharmacy, hospital, or from a doctor with an in-house pharmacy, the medicine's serial number is checked (verified), retrieved from a database system, and deactivated. This ensures the authenticity of the medicine. If any discrepancies are found during the verification, the medicine is initially isolated, and the prescribed verification measures are initiated.
According to legal requirements, all parties involved in the pharmaceutical supply chain are responsible for jointly operating the database system. The costs for this are to be borne by the pharmaceutical industry. The national implementation in Switzerland and Liechtenstein is the responsibility of the SMVO and the LiMVO.
SMVS GmbH - as a 100% subsidiary of SMVO - operates the database system for Switzerland and Liechtenstein.