What is ECHO?
ECHO stands for Extending the Collaboration of Healthcare Organisations. The ECHO initiative focuses on harmonising market strategies and data requirements across borders, and translates this into a commonly used data model.
How does ECHO work?
GS1 Member Organisations and healthcare stakeholders join forces to create a clear strategy for the exchange of product data via the Global Data Synchronisation Network (GDSN), the global standard for data exchange. The ECHO initiatives and the data model used are now being put into practice by the countries involved: Denmark, Netherlands, Belgium, Germany, Finland, France, Ireland, Spain and Switzerland. More countries may join in the future.
The heart of ECHO: Why is it important?
The international healthcare sector is embracing many regulations and developments at the moment, and the challenge of complying with these various requirements has become evident.
Healthcare providers are under constant pressure to provide good quality care at lower costs, and it is imperative to reduce errors and optimise processes.
As for manufacturers, they face a multitude of requirements from various countries with different regulations, languages and business needs. This increased demand for data is further complicated in the European region, due to the many different countries.
With the help of ECHO, we bring all these requirements together, to maximise the benefits of using GDSN, the global standard for data exchange. One single place from where data requirements can be communicated.
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