Story of Pharmaceutical Track & Trace System

The Saudi Drug Track & Trace Project was recognized as ‘e-Health Champion’ by the United Nations’ World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS).

Launched in Türkiye as the first of its kind globally, the Pharmaceutical Track & Trace System has been providing successful service since 2010. Its achievements in ensuring secure drug supply and generating significant cost savings in Türkiye have made it a global model. The agreement signed with the Saudi Food and Drug Authority (SFDA) in 2017 marked the system’s first export.

The Pharmaceutical Track & Trace System, developed by Tiga Healthcare Technologies, was selected as one of the top five e-health projects worldwide by the United Nations’ World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS).

In its ‘Turkish Track and Trace System - A Best Practice in Pharma Industry’ report, PwC designated the Pharmaceutical Track and Trace System as ‘one of the best practices’ in the pharmaceutical industry, positioning Türkiye as the leading country globally for successfully implementing this system.

The system began offering services via smartphones. While the system’s mobile application is used by the Ministry of Health to protect public health, prevent counterfeit drugs, and track every medication in the country, it was also made accessible to citizens through mobile devices.

Tiga Healthcare Technologies redesigned the Pharmaceutical Track & Trace System to address existing problems and achieve a more professional structure. The system, developed from scratch according to international standards, was launched under the name ‘Tiga Pharmaceutical Track & Trace System’.

In Phase 2, warehouses were also integrated into the system, and every transaction related to a product began to be recorded. This ensures that information such as the destination and sale date of every sold box of medicine can be easily verified by being recorded in the system.

In Phase 1, all notifications between manufacturers, warehouses, and pharmacies, while not mandatory, allowed drugs to be processed through the system. This year, the entire process, from a drug's entry into the supply chain until it reaches patients, was brought under full control, although the inclusion of warehouses remained optional.

The initial Pharmaceutical Track & Trace System software, prepared using QR code technology, was implemented in designated pilot regions and pharmacies. Through this pilot study, the system's feasibility was successfully proven via a limited number of transactions.

The Turkish Ministry of Health, General Directorate of Pharmaceutical and Pharmacies, issued Circular No. 2009/84, which states that Provisional Article 181 of the ‘Decree Law on the Organization and Duties of the Ministry of Health’ assigns the Ministry the duty of ensuring drug safety. To achieve this goal, and based on Article 2, paragraph (d) of the law, a significant amendment was made to the ‘Medicinal Products for Human Use Packaging and Labeling Regulation’ on February 2, 2008, for drug traceability. As a result, the clippings on drug boxes were removed and replaced with a new identifier called ‘Data Matrix’. Effective January 2010, the implementation of Data Matrix became mandatory on the packaging of all drugs produced and imported in Türkiye for comprehensive drug tracking and tracing.