GMDN

GMDN Guidance for finding Alternative Terms for Obsolete Terms

12 June 2023

The GMDN Agency have released guidance on how to identify Alternative Terms for Obsolete Terms.

Following the United States FDA’s request that labellers review their GUDID entries to ensure they are using accurate, active, non-obsolete GMDN Term Codes in preparation for the release of the GMDN Term Code field in AccessGUDID.

The GMDN Agency have released guidance on how to identify Alternative Terms for Obsolete Terms in the GMDN Database please follow the below instructions:

The full FDA announcement can be read here: https://www.fda.gov/medical-devices/unique-device-identification-system-udi-system/global-unique-device-identification-database-gudid


Manufacturer Members:

  • Go to your My Terms here https://members.gmdnagency.org/Terms/MyTerms section and select ‘Obsolete’ in the Status field
  • By clicking on Details you will be taken to the Obsolete Term details page where you will find the list of suggested Alternative Term(s) at the bottom of the page
  • Please add the appropriate Alternative Term(s) to your account
  • Explorer Groups at the bottom of the page can also be used to find Alternative Terms via the hierarchical categorisation tool
  • An export file with the Obsolete and Alternative Terms is also available for download – please click on the Obsolete button on the My Terms page


Basic Members:

  • Please search for Obsolete GMDN Codes or Term Names in the Search page here https://members.gmdnagency.org/Terms/Search
  • Click on Advanced to include Obsolete Terms in your search
  • By clicking on Details you will be taken to the Obsolete Term details page where you will find the list of suggested Alternative Term(s) at the bottom of the page
  • An export file with the Obsolete and Alternative Terms is also available for download – please click on the Obsolete button on the Search page


Code of Good Practice:

We’ve also created a Code of Good Practice for Manufacturers that use the GMDN. The Code of Good Practice is designed to help Manufacturers correctly assign terms and to ensure that they are always up to date.

The Code of Good Practice can be viewed here.


Further support

If you need any further assistance in finding an Alternative Term(s) or think the Alternative Term(s) suggested are inaccurate or unsuitable, you can raise an Enquiry here: https://members.gmdnagency.org/Enquiry