DMN: Where do other countries stand in setting up UDI?
KC: Europe is next in line. They planned to have something final early this year but because of parliamentary elections it's probably looking more like later this year. It would be similar to what's being done here except they actually have language in their draft recommendation that would require implantable device UDIs to be documented in the EHR. Other countries including China, Australia, India, Japan, Korea, Brazil and Canada are also looking into UDI, but nothing is formal.

DMN: What other things should be on manufacturer's radars?
KC: If anyone is attending HIMSS 14, AHRMM and HIMSS are collaborating on a pre-conference symposium on Linking Technology and Supply Chain: Cost, Quality and Outcomes. This symposium is designed to show how supply chain has the ability to link all of the various systems, processes and data to understand what drives better cost, quality and outcomes in health care. And there's a great lineup of speakers, including the FDA lead on UDI.

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