GS1 have announced a breakthrough that extends the power of the GS1 DataMatrix, a barcode printed on millions of medicine packages to every smartphone, in collaboration with Google. Using Google tools such as Google Lens, users can now scan medicine packs directly, no separate app required. Each scan is capable of opening a trusted source of medicine information from the manufacturer or an authorised data provider.

This new capability will give patients, caregivers and healthcare professionals instant access to trusted medicine information online, opening a new era for patient safety.

While the functionality is now available through Google Lens, broad access to trusted medicine information will depend on adoption by manufacturers. GS1 is working with several global companies to implement this capability and encourages all pharmaceutical and medical devices manufacturers to make their product information available online so that patients everywhere can benefit.

Why bringing trusted medicine information to smartphones matters now

Safe use of medicines depends on clarity at moments of uncertainty. Too often, vital information is difficult to locate or hidden behind systems not designed for public access. This creates a gap between the information manufacturers make available and what patients can actually read when they are about to open or take medication.

Making GS1 DataMatrix barcodes scannable through standard smartphone tools bridges the gap between trusted data and everyday access. Patients gain clarity and confidence by easily checking medicine information. Clinicians gain a simpler way to confirm what is in front of them, and manufacturers and potentially regulators gain a direct, consistent way to put relevant information into the hands of the person who needs it.

A clear win for sustainability and efficiency

In addition to improving patient safety and access to information, the shift towards digital access to electronic leaflets (ePILs) also supports sustainability. In the United States alone, printed medicine leaflets are estimated to account for the loss of roughly 12 million trees and greenhouse-gas emissions equivalent to 800,000 cars each year. This digital innovation cuts waste dramatically and highlights the profound environmental impact of modernising medicine transparency.

A foundation of open standards and digital integration

The GS1 DataMatrix is printed on medicine packs around the world, and Google is enabling the standard to be read natively using tools already on billions of phones.

This capability does not replace national traceability systems or hospital information flows; it can complement them. It establishes a universal and common layer of access that can strengthen and sit alongside national programmes. 

To encourage further innovation and interoperability, supporting components will be made available openly, enabling developers and solution providers to integrate GS1 DataMatrix scanning into their own systems.

Advancing global medicine transparency

This milestone advances GS1’s Vision 2030 for interoperable and trusted healthcare data that serves patients as well as regulators, manufacturers, and healthcare providers. It shows how global standards and technology infrastructure can deliver value not only to supply chains and regulators but to the person holding the pack in their hand.

A symbol already found on billions of medicines now serves as a direct point of access. An identifier becomes a connector, an active safety tool. What has been on packaging for years will now deliver value to the people it was ultimately designed to protect, ushering in a new era of patient safety.

Read here the full press release for more details and media contacts.