UDI and Health Plans: Assessing Device Performance, Assisting with Recalls

A pilot project from Mercy, a high-performing health system in the Midwest, integrated unique device identifiers (UDIs) into hospital inventory systems and patients' medical records. The pilot helped improve safety, enhance care quality, and support operational efficiencies. If adopted more broadly, the UDI system can benefit the entire health care system.

Joseph Drozda Jr., M.D., director of outcomes research at Mercy and leader of the UDI pilot project, explains some of these benefits. For example, health plans could know exactly what devices patients received, better manage costs, and improve care quality if insurance claims contain UDI.