UDI: More than Just a Barcode and Label

Unique Device Identification (UDI) is a global requirement mandated by regulatory bodies in various countries to facilitate the easy tracking of key medical device information throughout the supply chain. This system ensures traceability from the moment a device is manufactured until it is used in a medical facility or at home.

The UDI system mandates specific labeling requirements, including the placement of a UDI number, a barcode, and essential device information on the medical device's label. This facilitates the straightforward identification and tracking of the device.  

The importance of UDI to regulatory affairs teams

The obligations of the device labeler extend beyond just labeling. Manufacturers are also required to submit and update device information in regulatory databases specific to each country where the device is marketed. This part of the regulation underscores the importance of managing UDI data effectively, as it is critical for legally marketing and maintaining medical devices in different markets. As a result, the responsibility for UDI compliance is increasingly recognized as falling within the purview of regulatory affairs departments within manufacturing companies.

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The Unique Device Identification (UDI) system, initially introduced by the US FDA, has since been adopted by regulatory authorities worldwide. These authorities are developing their own UDI programs tailored to their countries to deliver similar patient benefits. Each country's UDI program typically mandates specific labeling and device data reporting and maintenance. While there are overlapping elements for the UDI data required, individual countries have set up additional, localized requirements. This creates a layer of digital complexity through unique regulatory database requirements, interfaces for data entry, and the need for machine-to-machine submissions to handle large-scale reporting.

The increasing blend of shared and unique UDI data requirements, along with country-specific regulatory database needs, highlights the importance of developing comprehensive compliance solutions. The drive for digital transformation in this area is fueled by the intensive data demands from both regulators and manufacturers. This transformation aims to simplify the management of expanding requirements and address the growing complexity as more countries adopt UDI programs.

As UDI programs and the necessity for database reporting become mandatory in more countries, manufacturers and labelers must be ready to establish and maintain UDI datasets for both new and existing products in those markets.  

How Rimsys can help

Rimsys regulatory management software offers a platform that simplifies the creation, maintenance, and reporting of UDI data. It also provides tools to oversee and manage the entirety of a company's UDI program through a unified solution.

Business outcomes supported by the Rimsys UDI module:

• Remove the risk of data entry error that comes with keeping identical data sets manually in sync - The Rimsys solution allows users to create and manage UDI attribute data from a centralized location and then apply that information to global UDI requirements, where the data requirements overlap multiple markets.
• Reduce the burden of keeping up to date with each country's UDI program - Rimsys monitors global UDI regulatory changes and adds new country requirements directly into the platform as UDI programs are implemented and become required. Rimsys also keeps up with the latest changes to supported UDI programs for the US (FDA) EU (MDR), Saudi Arabia (SFDA), China (NMPA), South Korea (MFDS), and Singapore (HSA) and updates the required fields directly into the platform.
• An open API ecosystem allows "source of truth" data to be integrated into Rimsys as a "post go-live" phase - Ensure data is up to date and locked at the source of truth, yet centralized for application to global UDI requirements in Rimsys. Data that is required but not controlled in a customer's source system can be managed within Rimsys.
• Built-in support of machine to machine (M2M) transmission to GUDID (FDA) with EUDAMED (EU) coming soon - Rimsys alleviates the need to manually upload UDI data into databases when relevant information changes to ensure compliance. Acknowledgments from machine-to-machine interactions are saved directly to Rimsys and associated to each UDI record.
• Leverage the existing product hierarchy in Rimsys to efficiently manage Basic UDI to reduce non-compliance risk for EU MDR - Data requirements for Basic UDI established in Rimsys are included with the M2M process - Coming Soon
• Facilitate impact assessments in Rimsys since UDI information sits alongside product and registration data - Eliminate the need to manually combine disparate data sets.

Ready to see how Rimsys software can help you create and manage the complexities of UDI data? Schedule a custom demo here.  

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