The standard includes an overview of:

• GS1 Identification Keys, including data structure and supported data attributes
• GS1 Data Carriers (i.e., barcodes and Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) tags)
• Producing compliant GS1 barcodes and RFID tags, using GS1 Application Standards and Symbol Specifications
• Ensuring optimal barcode quality and compliance to GS1 Standards, including barcode and RFID validation and verification requirements.

It should be used as a reference tool by the NHS when procuring, implementing, and using AIDC technologies, e.g., barcode encoding software, scanners and printers.

About this change

The last release of this standard, ISB 0108 Amd 145/2010, was published in 2011 and this change to the standard enables alignments with GS1 standards and changes in the NHS, by introducing:

• Serialised Global Trade Item Number (SGTIN) which enables the identification of a specific instance of an item, providing additional granularity for traceability purposes
• Service Relation Instance Number (SRIN) which enables the identification of specific episodes of care and is an extension to the Global Service Relation Number (GSRN), defined for use by DCB1077: AIDC for Patient Identification.

Other changes include:

• Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) added to GS1 Data Carriers
• References to supporting links and guidance, glossary, appendices, governing bodies, and contract dates, updated.

Note: this standard is not mandatory for providers, but where providers do choose to use AIDC technologies, they MUST conform to this standard.