FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
GHX Health ConneXion™ Data Pool Gains
Momentum As Healthcare Industry Moves
Toward Standards Adoption
Healthcare providers, manufacturers, distributors and GPOs
join growing list of organizations that have selected the only GDSN-certified
data pool focused
solely on healthcare
LOUISVILLE, Colo. – October 15, 2009 – A
growing number of healthcare providers, manufacturers, distributors and group
purchasing organizations (GPOs) have chosen the GHX Health ConneXion™ data pool, certified by GS1’s Global
Data Synchronization Network (GDSN), to synchronize medical-surgical product data.
Data synchronization is a critical element of the healthcare industry’s move
toward the adoption of standards as a way to help improve patient care, while
making the supply chain more efficient and cost-effective.
The only GDSN-certified data pool focused
exclusively on healthcare, the GHX Health ConneXion data pool enables suppliers
to publish industry-standard product data to the GDSN and share that data with authorized
subscribers. This helps assure that any changes to product information
made by manufacturers are automatically and immediately available to other authorized
organizations.
Among early
adopters of the Health ConneXion data pool is Resource Optimization and
Innovation (ROi), an operating
division of Sisters of Mercy Health System, which serves a seven‑state
area including
“Obtaining accurate
product information is paramount to executing clean, error-free transactions
and ensuring timely deliveries,” said Alex Zimmerman, director of Supply Chain
Information at ROi. “Right now we may
get information about a product’s packaging contents, unit of measure or
catalog number from a supplier’s customer service representative and that
information is different from the company Web site or from a distributor.
Product recall notification is also a continuing problem. GHX is a key enabler
for us, and we are both confident and excited that data synchronization made
possible through the Health ConneXion data pool will help resolve these issues
and streamline a process we all recognize needs work.”
Distributors also
are joining the GHX Health ConneXion. They include Owens & Minor, a leading
distributor of national name-brand medical and surgical supplies and a
healthcare supply-chain management company.
“The Health
ConneXion data pool offers Owens & Minor a cost-effective way to ensure
that all our trading partners have access to the most accurate information
about our products,” said Rick Mears, senior vice president and chief
information officer at Owens & Minor, Inc. “Implementation costs were not
significant because we were able to leverage our existing connectivity to the
GHX exchange. As more members of the
healthcare industry join and actively work to synchronize data and adopt
standards, we will begin to see benefits across the entire supply chain.”
The GHX exchange connects a significant percentage of hospitals in North
America and in
Other early
adopters of the GHX Health ConneXion include:
·
Baxter Healthcare Corporation
·
Sisters of Mercy Health System/ROi
·
Johnson & Johnson health Care systems Inc.
·
DeKroyft-Metz & Co.
·
Novation
·
Seneca Medical
·
Aurora Health Care (
·
The
·
·
Alpha Source
·
The University of
·
·
“GHX believes that expanded use of industry standards will enable greater
visibility and collaboration in the healthcare supply chain,” said MJ Wylie,
director, Global Data Standardization. “That,
in turn, will help build trust among stakeholders, improve efficiencies, and
lead to better quality patient care and improved financial performance.”
720-887-7631
jstowell@ghx.com
Karen Conway
303-564-2147
kconway@ghx.com
About GHX
As the business hub for
healthcare, Global Healthcare Exchange, LLC (GHX) enables healthcare providers
and suppliers in North America and
###