{"id":6096,"date":"2022-10-24T06:58:52","date_gmt":"2022-10-24T06:58:52","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/osmr.ro\/?p=6096"},"modified":"2022-10-24T07:07:29","modified_gmt":"2022-10-24T07:07:29","slug":"importanta-codului-data-matrix-in-cadrul-proiectului-de-serializare","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/osmr.ro\/en\/importanta-codului-data-matrix-in-cadrul-proiectului-de-serializare\/","title":{"rendered":"The importance of the Data Matrix Code in Serialisation"},"content":{"rendered":"

\u201cWhat\u2019s in a \u2018code\u2019?\u201d \u2013 to paraphrase a famous line of an even more famous writer (\u201cWhat\u2019s in a name?\u201d line from the play Romeo & Juliet by<\/em> W. Shakespeare<\/em>).<\/p>\n

It is known that for the purpose of the Falsified Medicines Directive (FMD) implementation, the 2D Data Matrix code has been chosen for the encoding of the Unique Identifier<\/strong> (Product Code, Serial Number, Batch Number, Expiry Date, National Reimbursement Number-if required by the Member State<\/em>).<\/p>\n

But what makes the 2D Data Matrix code more suitable for this type of activity than the QR (Quick Response) code for example?<\/p>\n

Just by looking at the 2 types of codes, there is no striking visible discrepancy. However, if we pay attention, we can see that the QR code has 4 white and black squares in each corner, even though the last one is not that visible, whilst the Data Matrix code has an L on the left and bottom of the square.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\"\"<\/td>\n\"\"<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

 <\/p>\n

QR Code<\/u> \u2013 on the left side; Data Matrix Code<\/u> \u2013 on the right side (images source: https:\/\/www.weber-marking.com\/blog\/what-is-the-difference-between-qr-code-and-data-matrix-code\/<\/em><\/a>)<\/em><\/p>\n

What the two types of codes have in common is that that they can store information both horizontally and vertically, as opposed to the linear barcode which can store information just horizontally (from left to right).<\/p>\n

The main difference between the 2 types of codes resides in their structure. Thus, the QR code can contain 7,089 numeric characters or 4,296 alphanumeric characters, on the other hand, the Data Matrix code can contain up to 3,116 numeric characters or 2,335 alphanumeric characters, so less than the QR code.<\/p>\n

However, the format of the Data Matrix code is very small, which makes this code the preferred choice for labelling small items, such as medicine packs<\/strong>. Another strong feature of the Data Matrix code is that it is more secure, making it the approved code by GS1 for the healthcare industry.<\/p>\n

The European Commission\u2019s document \u2013 the Safety Features for Medicinal Products for Human Use (V.20) Q&A<\/em>, available here<\/a> offers guidance on the printing quality of the Data Matrix code, it should ensure the accurate readability of the code throughout the supply chain until at least one year after the expiry date of the pack or five years after the pack has been released for sale or distribution in accordance with Article 51(3) of Directive 2001\/83\/EC, whichever is the longer period.<\/p>\n

Moreover, it is stated that the Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2016\/161 does not prohibit the placing of a QR code as far as it is not used for the purposes of identification and authentication of medicinal products. Marketing authorisation holders are however encouraged to exploit the residual storage capacity of the Data Matrix to include the information they would otherwise include in the QR code. This would minimise the number of visible barcodes on the packaging and reduce the risk of confusion regarding the barcode to be scanned for verifying the authenticity of the medicinal product (question 2.12<\/em>).<\/p>\n

According to the Order of the Ministry of Health 1.437 of 22.11.2018, art. 12, the manufacturer can include other information in the Data Matrix Code, in accordance with art. 8 of the Delegated Regulation (EU) 2016\/161, provided that NAMMDR (The National Agency for Medicines and Medical Devices of Romania) has allowed this.<\/p>\n

Having a smaller size, while encompassing a large amount of information makes the use Data Matrix Code the optimal choice for the serialisation of medicines\u2019 packs, for ensuring data integrity throughout the entire legal supply chain<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

(Sources: <\/em>https:\/\/www.weber-marking.com\/blog\/what-is-the-difference-between-qr-code-and-data-matrix-code\/<\/em><\/a><\/p>\n

https:\/\/www.camcode.com\/blog\/barcodes-data-matrix-vs-qr-codes\/<\/em><\/a><\/p>\n

https:\/\/www.domino-printing.com\/en\/blog\/2021\/the-difference-between-a-data-matrix-code-and-a-qr-code<\/em><\/a>)<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

\u201cWhat\u2019s in a \u2018code\u2019?\u201d \u2013 to paraphrase a famous line of an even more famous […]<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6,"featured_media":6094,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[24],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-6096","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-stiri"],"translation":{"provider":"WPGlobus","version":"3.0.3","language":"en","enabled_languages":["ro","en"],"languages":{"ro":{"title":true,"content":true,"excerpt":false},"en":{"title":true,"content":true,"excerpt":false}}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/osmr.ro\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6096","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/osmr.ro\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/osmr.ro\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/osmr.ro\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/6"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/osmr.ro\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=6096"}],"version-history":[{"count":11,"href":"https:\/\/osmr.ro\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6096\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":6106,"href":"https:\/\/osmr.ro\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6096\/revisions\/6106"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/osmr.ro\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/6094"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/osmr.ro\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=6096"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/osmr.ro\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=6096"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/osmr.ro\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=6096"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}