PZN

 What is a PZN barcode?

The text under the barcode consists of the string "PZN", followed by the actual number ("PZN" is not encoded into the symbol). When encoding a PZN, Code 39 is used without a check digit as the PZN already contains a Modulo 11 check sum. Historically, the PZN encoded seven digits.

What is PZN (Pharma-Zentral-Nummer)?

PZN (Pharma-Zentral-Nummer) is used for distribution of pharmaceutical / health care products in Germany. The specification of this application is maintained at Informationsstelle für Arzneispezialitäten GmbH (IFA). The value to encode length is fixed to 6 digits (for PZN7) or 7 digits (for PZN8) plus 1 digit checksum.

What does PZN stand for?

PZN (Pharma-Zentral-Nummer) is a code for medicine identification in Germany and maybe other countries. In Germany it's issued by the Informationsstelle für Arzneispezialitäten GmbH, Beethovenstr. 51-53, Frankfurt am Main, Germany. The PZN is based on Code39. The last digit is a check digit.

Can a PZN be used without a check digit?

When encoding a PZN, Code 39 is used without a check digit as the PZN already contains a Modulo 11 check sum. Historically, the PZN encoded seven digits. However, when a medical product (like a drug) is discontinued, its PZN can not be reused for safety reasons and is therefore permanently removed from the pool of available numbers.

PZN (Pharma-Zentral-Nummer) is a code for medicine identification in Germany and maybe other countries. In Germany it's issued by the Informationsstelle für Arzneispezialitäten GmbH, Beethovenstr. 51-53, Frankfurt am Main, Germany.

The PZN is based on Code39. The last digit is a check digit. It uses the Code39-start sign "*" in combination with "-" as the start sign. The stop sign is the standard code39 stop sign "*". These start and stop signs and the characters "PZN " do not need to be entered in order to produce a PZN because they are a fixed part of the PZN. The characters "PZN" are not coded in the barcode.

PZN7

The original PZN, now PZN7 is no longer awarded from the 01.01.2013. At this point PZN will completely switch to the PZN8. Old PZN7 may be used further for some years. From the 01.01.2020 the PZN7 is then invalidated and only the PZN8 may be used.

PZN8

The PZN8 replaces the old PZN from the 01.01.2013 and offers a larger number range by the additional digit.

Pharmazentralnummer (PZN) is a variant of Code 39 - Regular that is used for the distribution and marking of health care and pharmaceutical products in Germany. Two versions are available: PZN7, which encodes six digits plus a check digit, and PZN8, which encodes seven digits plus a check digit. PZN7 is currently being phased out, and after January 1, 2020, only PZN8 will be used.

An application in Germany of Code 39 that encodes seven or eight digits (the so called Pharmazentralnummer or PZN). A PZN is only issued for medical products (drugs, medical devices etc.) that are sold via pharmacies. This can be over-the-counter products but also drugs for which a prescription is required.

The number is prepended by the PZN identificator ("-") so that a complete PZN looks like this "-NNNNNNN" (PZN 7) or this "-NNNNNNNN" (PZN 8). The text under the barcode consists of the string "PZN", followed by the actual number ("PZN" is not encoded into the symbol). When encoding a PZN, Code 39 is used without a check digit as the PZN already contains a Modulo 11 check sum.

Historically, the PZN encoded seven digits. However, when a medical product (like a drug) is discontinued, its PZN can not be reused for safety reasons and is therefore permanently removed from the pool of available numbers. To prevent running out of numbers, in 2013 the PZN 8 was introduced. The extra digit increased the available number pool ten fold. To avoid issuing new numbers for existing products, existing PZN 7 numbers are converted into PZN 8 by simply prepending a "0".

The Pharmazentralnummer ( PZN ) is a nationwide identification key for drugs , medical devices and other common pharmacy products. It is an eight-digit number (7 digits + check digit ) preceded by a minus sign, which clearly identifies the medicinal product by name, dosage form , active ingredient strength and pack size. It is printed in plain text ( numbers ) preceded by “PZN” and as a barcode ( Code39 ) on every drug pack, whereby the character string “PZN” is not included in the barcode.

The PZN was originally developed for the quick and error-free transmission of orders from pharmacies to pharmaceutical wholesalers. In the logistics chain (order, outgoing goods, incoming goods, invoicing) it is common in the pharmaceutical sector.

In addition, the PZN is used when billing the pharmacies with the health insurance companies. For this purpose, the pharmaceutical central numbers are scanned in the pharmacies when the drugs are dispensed and printed on the prescriptions in a machine-readable manner . The data of those with statutory health insurance are recorded by IT and forwarded to the statutory health insurance companies as data and graphic files (images). In the case of prescriptions for persons insured with private health insurance, the pharmaceutical central numbers are either handwritten on the prescriptions or printed on them, but the indication of the pharmaceutical central number is not absolutely necessary for billing.

Mail order pharmacies usually allow the PZN to be entered directly into their order form. With the introduction of the electronic prescription , the pharmaceutical registration number will continue to gain in importance.

The PZN is not only limited to Germany, it also exists in Austria. There, the first 6 digits of the 7-digit PZN (6 digits + check digit) are integrated into the EAN number for medicinal specialties (format 908888zzzzzzP). The packs have an EAN 13 barcode. In Germany, on the other hand, this integration has not currently been implemented, with the result that many over-the-counter drugs have their own EAN and PZN. In this case, however, only the EAN barcode is given on the packaging and the PZN is only given in plain text.

Special pharmaceutical central numbers

In addition to the centrally assigned pharmaceutical central numbers, there is an area for in-house use by pharmacies. These numbers start with 080, 081, 082 or 083. Pharmaceutical wholesalers can assign numbers starting with 050 for products that do not have a central pharmaceutical number. For some products that do not have a pharmaceutical central number, but are still billed on a prescription (for example, products manufactured in the pharmacy or individual imports), pharmaceutical central numbers are used that start with 09999, 02566 or 02567.

Expansion to 8 digits

In November 2010 the Information Center for Medicinal Products (IFA) announced the expansion of the PZN. As of January 1, 2013, the PZN was expanded to 8 positions. The previous 7-digit PZN will be retained and expanded to 8 digits with a leading zero. New PZN are assigned with a leading zero until the old number range is exhausted. The last digit is still the check digit.

Structure of the barcode

In addition to the seven or eight digits, a leading minus sign is encoded in the barcode . This is used to identify the PZN; it is reserved in ISO / IEC 15418 / ANSI MH10.8.2 as a distinguishing feature for the PZN code. A PZN is coded in a barcode type Code 39 (ISO / IEC 16388). The eight-digit PZN must be differentiated from the eight-digit EAN-8 code, which is a different code type and is specified in ISO / IEC 15420. The distinction between the two types of code (and indirectly the coded data content) is made using the identifier in accordance with ISO / IEC 15424.

The integration of the PZN in an EAN code became difficult due to the extension to 8 digits, as the EAN only has a very limited number range with 13 digits (GTIN: " Global Trade Item Number " in the EAN-13 code). A frequent constellation of the GTIN is a 5-digit article number, which is preceded by the manufacturer ID and the number of the GS1 issuing point for the manufacturer number . There is therefore a space problem in the EAN-13 code for an 8-digit article number.