Johannesburg, 27 November 2025 – GS1 South Africa has described the announcement by GS1 Global that it has partnered with Google to bring trusted medical product information to smartphones as a game-changer that will also benefit South African patients and the medical fraternity.
The collaboration with Google Launch of smartphone camera scanning of GS1 DataMatrix barcodes marks a global breakthrough for patient safety. New capability will allow patients, caregivers, and healthcare professionals to access trusted medical product information using Google Lens, paving the way for wider digital access to trusted data.
GS1 is the global organisation behind the barcode. In South Africa, GS1 South Africa is the South African affiliate of the GS1 Global. GS1 Among its activities, it promotes and oversees the implementation of GS1’s global barcode standards in the retail industry in South Africa, including SMEs.
Michele Francis Padayachee, Global Standards and Solutions Executive, GS1 South Africa, says the collaboration with Google will enable GS1 DataMatrix barcodes – already printed on millions of medicine packs worldwide – to be scanned and recognised by Google Lens, the company’s visual search tool.
With this new functionality, patients, caregivers, and healthcare professionals will be able to use their smartphones to scan a GS1 DataMatrix barcode and access trusted product information, including electronic patient leaflets (ePILs). This marks a critical first step in advancing access to trusted medical product information.
“For South Africa, this is a game-changer as patients can easily scan any medicine they purchased from authorised sources such as pharmacies to get all the relevant product information they want. That information will include data such as year of manufacturer and expiry date and even dosages. By simply scanning the barcode, the patient will be empowered with information about the medicine they have been prescribed to take or which they have bought over the counter,” she says.
“In South Africa, the capability is available immediately, as Google Lens is already integrated into most smartphone cameras. This means consumers can simply scan the GS1 Digital Link QR code using their phone’s camera to access product information. To unlock the full value of this functionality, pharmaceutical manufacturers must enable a GS1 Digital Link to trusted online product information—such as approved electronic leaflets (e-leaflets) or other validated medical content.
“GS1 South Africa is working closely with industry stakeholders to support and accelerate this adoption, helping ensure that patients and healthcare providers can easily access complete, accurate and reliable medicine information,” says Padayachee
In their joint statement, Google and GS1 Global said while the functionality is now available through Google Lens, broad access to trusted medical information will depend on adoption by manufacturers. GS1 is working with several global companies to implement this capability and encourages all pharmaceutical and medical devices manufacturers to make their product information available online so that patients everywhere can benefit.
“This collaboration between GS1 and Google is a major step forward in connecting the physical and digital worlds of healthcare,” said Renaud de Barbuat, President and CEO of GS1. “By enabling smartphone-native access to trusted medicine data, we’re advancing global healthcare transparency and giving patients and professionals the information, they need to act with greater confidence.”
Building on two decades of healthcare digitalisation, the GS1 DataMatrix has become the global standard for medicine identification and traceability. It encodes essential details including batch number, expiry date, and unique identifiers; key information required by healthcare regulations in more than 70 countries.
Developed and tested with GS1 and healthcare industry partners, this new capability represents a major advance in improving access to trusted healthcare data. It supports patient safety, informed decision-making, and access to accurate medical information.
In addition to improving patient safety and access to information, the shift toward digital access to electronic leaflets also supports sustainability. In the US alone, printed medicine leaflets are estimated to account for the loss of roughly 12 million trees and greenhouse gas emissions equivalent to 800,000 cars each year, highlighting the environmental impact of digital innovation in healthcare.
“The ability to scan a GS1 DataMatrix directly with a smartphone camera is a breakthrough for global healthcare systems,” said Glen Hodgson, Vice President, Healthcare at GS1. “It means the same trusted standards that underpin medicine identification and traceability will deliver trusted information directly into the hands of those who need it most.”
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