It is time to look at the better healthcare supply chain conferences coming up this fall.  This year the focus will be on the Drug Supply Chain Security Act (DSCSA) and the Unique Device Identification (UDI) final rule implementations.  For the DSCSA I think we will see presentations aimed at both the immediate 2015 data exchange requirements and those aimed at the 2017 serialization requirements, but I also expect to see presentations aimed at “second generation” data exchange—those based on GS1’s recently updated Electronic Product Code Information Services (EPCIS) standard.  After meeting the initial data exchange requirements for Transaction Information (TI), Transaction History (TH) and Transaction Statements (TS) in January, companies will need to begin preparing for the second generation using EPCIS (see “DQSA: Getting To Electronic Transaction Data Exchange”).  That transition will likely occur over the next three years. Continue reading 2014 Fall Conference Season Preview →