As with most medical device companies, our journey into the world of UDI began with the introduction of new FDA requirements to publish product data with a unique number assigned to the product, such as a Global Trade Item Number (GTIN), in the FDA database.

Shortly after the FDA published the deadline for submitting UDI product information for Class II devices, I received an email from one of our sales representatives asking for help in submitting UDI data to one of our clients, a healthcare network consisting of several hospitals, medical centers, clinics, and a university health center.

As a company, we didn’t do business with Group Purchasing Organizations (GPOs). Our strategy was to have a direct relationship with the customer. However, with UDI data, that changed.