Growing Number of Medicines with Incorrect Barcodes in UK Pharmacies Raises Safety Concerns, Urgent Action Needed Says Pharmacist
Cambridge, UK – In an opinion piece published in Chemist+Druggist, Zeinab Ardeshir, the Superintendent Pharmacist and Co-founder of PillSorted, has highlighted the alarming issue of incorrect or duplicate barcodes on medicines in UK pharmacies. This has forced pharmacists to manually verify every pack before dispensing them to patients, causing significant inconvenience and posing a hidden safety risk.
According to Ardeshir, this issue is becoming increasingly prevalent, with packs from different manufacturers carrying the same barcode. This means that a simple scan can no longer guarantee accuracy and pharmacists are required to double-check by hand. With the advancements in technology, this is an unacceptable situation in 2025.
To address this issue, Ardeshir has called on the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) to take urgent action. She suggests that making the Global Trade Item Number (GTIN) barcode a mandatory component of the medicine’s marketing authorisation file would be a simple and effective solution. This would hold manufacturers and regulators jointly responsible for ensuring accuracy, ultimately protecting patients and saving pharmacies thousands of hours in manual checks.
To further raise awareness and garner public support, Ardeshir and her team have launched an open campaign at barcode.pillsorted.com. The campaign documents real examples of barcode mismatches and urges the MHRA to make accurate GTINs a mandatory component of medicine approval in the UK.
This issue not only affects community pharmacies but also hospitals and dispensing systems using scan-to-label or digital checking workflows. While pharmacists are currently able to catch these discrepancies before any harm occurs, experts warn that relying solely on human vigilance is not a sustainable solution in a system that handles millions of packs each week.
The campaign has already gained strong support from the pharmacy sector, with calls for NHS England, GS1 UK, and MHRA to collaborate on enforcement standards.
PillSorted, a digital healthcare service based in Cambridge, is at the forefront of addressing this issue. Founded by clinicians, including pharmacists and doctors, the company combines technology with clinical care to improve medication safety and adherence. PillSorted seamlessly integrates with NHS and private care, making it adaptable to how patients access treatment.
For media inquiries, please contact PillSorted co-founder, Mohammad Mohaghegh, at press@pillsorted.com.
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