What Are TI, TS, TH, EPCIS, and EDDS?
DSCSA terms explained for pharmacies in plain English.
DSCSA comes with a lot of letters. TI. TS. TH. EPCIS. EDDS. For a busy pharmacy, those terms can make DSCSA feel more complicated than it needs to be. But the basic idea is simple.
DSCSA requires certain prescription drug transaction records to move through the supply chain so trading partners can trace product, verify information, identify suspect product, and show what happened when someone asks.
TI, TS, TH, EPCIS, and EDDS are part of a working pharmacy process.
These acronyms matter because they connect directly to receiving data, retaining records, reviewing exceptions, and showing what happened when someone asks.
“DSCSA acronyms are not the hard part. The hard part is making sure the pharmacy can receive the data, keep the records, and show what happened.”Jim Shaver, Managing Director of Advasur 360
Five acronyms every pharmacy should understand.
A pharmacy does not need every staff member to become a software expert. But the team should understand what the terms mean, where records live, and how to retrieve them when needed.
Transaction Information
TI means Transaction Information. This is the basic product and shipment information that comes with a covered prescription drug transaction.
TI may include product name, strength and dosage form, NDC, lot number, quantity, transaction date, shipment date, and business names and addresses of the trading partners involved.
What product moved, when did it move, how much moved, and who was involved?
Transaction Statement
TS means Transaction Statement. The Transaction Statement is the trading partner’s statement that certain DSCSA requirements were met.
For pharmacies, TS matters because it is part of the required transaction record. The pharmacy needs a way to receive it, retain it, and find it later when needed.
Is the seller saying this transaction meets the required DSCSA conditions?
Transaction History
TH means Transaction History. Transaction History refers to prior transaction information for the product as it moved through the supply chain.
Historically, TI, TS, and TH were often discussed together. As DSCSA moves into enhanced electronic tracing, the practical focus is now more heavily on secure, interoperable, electronic exchange of required transaction information and transaction statements.
Where has this product been before this transaction?
Electronic Product Code Information Services
EPCIS is a common electronic format used to exchange serialized DSCSA transaction data between trading partners.
For pharmacies, EPCIS matters because many suppliers use it to send DSCSA transaction data. EPCIS can include serialized product information that supports shipment visibility, reconciliation activity, product identifier review, and record retention.
Can shipment data move electronically in a structured way that systems can receive, read, store, and compare?
Enhanced Drug Distribution Security
EDDS generally refers to Enhanced Drug Distribution Security. This is the enhanced DSCSA framework for secure, interoperable, electronic tracing at the package level.
For pharmacies, EDDS matters because it raises the importance of electronic transaction data, supplier readiness, product identifier information, reconciliation activity, and the ability to retrieve records when needed.
Can trading partners exchange and use product tracing information electronically so the supply chain can better identify and respond to problems?
The practical pharmacy takeaway
The important point is to understand the terms, but also recognize that DSCSA processes have evolved toward electronic package-level tracing.
Your pharmacy should know whether data is being received, where it is stored, whether it can be reviewed, and how related records can be retrieved later.
Can your pharmacy show what happened when someone asks?
These terms are not just technical vocabulary.
They connect directly to pharmacy operations, staff workflow, supplier readiness, record retention, and inspection preparedness.
Receive and retain data
Pharmacies need to know whether transaction data is being received, where TI and TS are stored, and whether EPCIS data is available from suppliers.
Document the workflow
Pharmacies need a process for missing or delayed data, reconciliation activity, exception documentation, and suspect or illegitimate product concerns.
Retrieve records later
Pharmacies need to retain records for six years and retrieve those records when someone asks.
The pharmacy does not need to become a software company.
But it does need a practical process that connects DSCSA terminology to daily receiving, recordkeeping, documentation, and retrieval.
These acronyms should help staff understand the movement of required records through the supply chain. The end goal is not memorization. The end goal is readiness.
When your pharmacy can receive, retain, review, document, and retrieve DSCSA records connected to the product you purchased, the terminology starts to become useful.
A pharmacy needs to know:
Emails, portals, downloads, spreadsheets, and staff memory are not enough for most pharmacies.
Some pharmacies try to manage DSCSA records manually. That may feel manageable at first, but it can become fragile quickly.
Move from “what do all these letters mean?” to “we know where the records are.”
Advasur 360 helps pharmacies manage DSCSA records and workflows in one practical system.
Transaction data receipt and retention
Support for receiving, retaining, and retrieving required transaction data connected to covered prescription drug transactions.
EPCIS and EDI 856 record management
Support for managing electronic DSCSA records, including EPCIS and EDI 856 data used in supplier and shipment workflows.
Supplier and shipment visibility
Visibility into supplier and shipment activity so required records are easier to organize, understand, and connect to pharmacy operations.
Reconciliation activity
Practical workflow support for comparing shipment data, transaction records, and product activity.
Missing-data workflows
A clearer process for identifying, following up on, and documenting missing or delayed DSCSA information.
Exception documentation
Tools and workflow support to help document exceptions consistently instead of relying on memory or scattered notes.
Suspect product procedures
Support for procedures that help staff know what to do when a product or record looks questionable.
Six-year record retention
Support for long-term DSCSA record retention so your pharmacy can keep required information available.
Record retrieval when someone asks
Help pharmacies show where records are, what happened, and how the team handled the process.
Can your team receive, retain, review, document, and retrieve the records?
That is what readiness looks like. Advasur 360 helps make that work more organized, more practical, and easier to explain.
DSCSA has plenty of letters. Advasur 360 helps turn them into a process your pharmacy can actually use.
Get organized before the November 27, 2026 deadline.
In a 30-minute Advasur 360 DSCSA Readiness Review, we can walk through where your pharmacy stands today and show how Advasur 360 helps simplify the work.
No pressure. No scare tactics. Just a practical look at what these DSCSA terms mean for your pharmacy and how Advasur 360 can help.