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IBM's "ePedigree" system to combat drug counterfeiting

Case Management Weekly, August 15, 2007

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To help pharmaceutical companies combat drug counterfeiting, IBM is launching an electronic certificate of authenticity (known as ePedigree) that will help track medications by using radio-frequency identification tags, the Associated Press (AP) reports.

The ePedigree system will allow all participants in the drug supply chain-manufactures, distributors, pharmacies, and hospitals-secure and on demand access to historical data on individual packages of medicine, according to an IBM press release

While there is no guarantee that the ePedigree system will catch all drug counterfeits, IBM says the device will make it vastly more difficult for people to produce fake drugs.

In 2009, California will mandate that any drug distributed in the state has its pedigree attached, and many other states are expected to follow, according to the AP.

Source: Associated Press; IBM

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