GS1 Healthcare standards, PEPPOL compliance, patient identification scanning and the right devices for NHS trusts and healthcare suppliers.
NHS England has mandated GS1 standards across all NHS trusts for medical devices, pharmaceuticals, blood products and surgical instruments. The "Never Events" reduction programme relies on barcode scanning to verify the right patient, right product, right time at every point of care.
| Application | Barcode Type | Scanner Required |
|---|---|---|
| Patient ID wristbands | GS1 DataMatrix or QR | 2D imager |
| Pharmaceutical verification | GS1 DataMatrix (FMD) | 2D imager |
| Medical device tracking | GS1 DataMatrix or 128 | 2D imager |
| Blood product scanning | GS1-128 | 1D or 2D scanner |
| Surgical instrument trays | RFID or 2D barcode | UHF RFID or 2D imager |
| Supply chain goods-in | GS1-128 or DataMatrix | 2D imager + WMS |
NHS trusts are adopting PEPPOL (Pan-European Public Procurement On-Line) for digital procurement. Suppliers must include GTINs on all invoices and despatch advice. Our 2D scanners capture GTIN, lot number and expiry date in a single scan, ready for PEPPOL-compliant e-invoicing systems.
Purpose-built for clinical environments — reads patient wristband DataMatrix and GS1 pharmaceutical codes from an iPhone.
View Linea iMED →UHF RFID readers for tracking surgical trays and implantable devices in theatre environments.
View RFID readers →AsReader iOS accessories are officially approved for use with Epic — the leading electronic patient record (EPR) system used across NHS trusts and private hospitals in the UK. If your trust runs Epic, AsReader plug-in scanners are a validated, zero-configuration solution for point-of-care barcode scanning on iPhone and iPad.
AsReader devices connect via Lightning or USB-C directly to your iPhone or iPad. Because they present as a keyboard input, they work immediately within Epic's Rover mobile app — no SDK integration, no IT configuration, no MDM changes required.
AsReader 2D imagers read GS1 DataMatrix codes on patient wristbands and pharmaceutical packaging — the core requirement for Epic's Bedside verification and medication administration workflows. Supports all GS1 Application Identifiers including GTIN, lot number and expiry date.
AsReader UHF RFID plug-in accessories add RFID capability to existing iPhones — enabling real-time medical equipment tracking that feeds into Epic's asset management modules without requiring separate RFID infrastructure.
AsReader supplies plug-in accessories for all current iPhone and iPad models — Lightning connector for older devices and USB-C for iPhone 15 and iPad Pro. Both connect instantly and are powered by the host device, requiring no separate charging.
| AsReader Model | Connector | Scan Type | Epic Use Case |
|---|---|---|---|
| ASR-010L | Lightning | 1D/2D Barcode | Patient ID, medication scanning |
| ASR-011U | USB-C | 1D/2D Barcode | iPhone 15, iPad Pro — all Epic workflows |
| ASR-030L | Lightning | Barcode + UHF RFID | Asset tracking + patient ID |
| ASR-031U | USB-C | Barcode + UHF RFID | Combined RFID + barcode for Epic |
Why AsReader for Epic-running NHS trusts? AsReader's iOS accessories have been tested and validated against Epic's Rover mobile application for clinical point-of-care workflows. Unlike Bluetooth scanners which require pairing and battery management, AsReader devices plug directly into the device in use — ideal for shared clinical devices that need to be ready to scan immediately without connection setup.
We supply GS1-compliant scanning solutions to NHS trusts and healthcare suppliers across the UK.
