Let’s break it down simply.
First: Not all hubs are the same
Tatmeen is not EMVO, and EMVO is not DSCSA.
You can’t group all of them under one label called Track & Trace.
Second: What is real Track & Trace?
Track & Trace means being able to follow the journey of every single medicine pack:
From:
Manufacturer ➜ Distributor / Agent ➜ Warehouses ➜ Pharmacy or Hospital
This means the system, at a central level, can at any time answer one key question:
Where exactly is pack X within the supply chain right now?
This model is implemented in #Tatmeen, and it is the model that will be implemented in Egypt.
Third: What is Verification?
This is a completely different model.
In this case:
- The manufacturer serializes each pack
- The pharmacy scans the pack at dispensing to decommission it
- All intermediate parties (distributors, warehouses, etc.) only perform verification
However:
- The authority or hub cannot determine the current location of a specific pack
- There is no end-to-end visibility of the pack’s journey
This is the model implemented by EMVO in Europe.
Fourth: RSD is a special and different case
The SFDA’s RSD system started with a full Track & Trace model (phase one),
then evolved into a hybrid model combining Track & Trace and Verification.
That’s why it represents a different experience compared to both Europe and the US.
Fifth: USA – FDA DSCSA is pure Verification
It closely resembles a blockchain-like approach:
- The manufacturer sends the shipment
- Each recipient verifies the data received from the previous party and passes it on
- Verification occurs from one supply-chain node to the next, based on upstream data
Yet again:
- There is no central authority with real-time, end-to-end visibility of every pack.
There is a major difference between Traceability and Verification.
Understanding this difference is critical ,especially as Egypt moves into a new phase of pharmaceutical traceability.