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NewsDecember 16th, 2008 Winter 2008/2009 Newsletter
HealthPRO and Medbuy Endorse GS1 Standards Public and Private Sectors Support Supply Chain Standards Project New CareNET Mandate Celebrated At OHA's HealthAchieve 2008 Industry Votes On Product Attributes For Consignment Inventory Healthcare Technical Standards Work Group Develops New EDI Standards Manitoba Expands Its e-Commerce Activity Upcoming Healthcare Events Happy Holidays From CareNET and GS1 CanadaWe will deliver even greater value to Canadian healthcare in 2009 As the year comes to an end, we would like to reflect on the huge strides that CareNET Services Inc. (CareNET) and GS1 Canada made in addressing the Canadian healthcare sector's goals to save lives as well as money. In 2008, we:
In addition, GS1 Canada launched the GS1 Canada Certificate of Authority Service to enable the secure electronic ordering of controlled substances, while complying with Health Canada requirements. GS1 Canada is currently piloting this service with the Canadian Pharmaceutical Distribution Network (CPDN). We are now seeing the results of all of these endeavours, as we have recently welcomed several new members, including:
CareNET is a Canadian association of healthcare providers and suppliers advancing and facilitating the use of electronic commerce. As a result of CareNET's partnership with GS1 Canada, the Supply Chain Standards Project has the support of over 440 Canadian healthcare providers - which account for 54% of the national total - and 95 healthcare suppliers. Learn more about GS1 Canada and CareNET. Our continuous improvement is the direct result of the ongoing support of healthcare stakeholders like yourself, for which we sincerely thank you. We look forward to many more achievements in 2009. Best wishes to you and your family during this holiday season. Sincerely,
HealthPRO and Medbuy Endorse GS1 StandardsGPOs aim to enhance patient safety and reduce costs Industry is starting to take notice of CareNET's new mandate, which includes advancing the national adoption of GS1 global standards to achieve interoperability across the healthcare supply chain to reduce costs, save time and enhance patient safety. In a move that will have a major impact on driving efficiencies in the healthcare supply chain, HealthPRO and Medbuy, two of Canada's most prominent group purchasing organizations, affirmed in a joint news release their commitment to driving the adoption of GS1 global standards with their members. "Working with our members to adopt global supply chain standards will help ensure that the right product gets to the right location," said Michael Foley, CEO of HealthPRO. "This will result in decreased supply hain costs, faster order cycles, and increased patient safety, generating significant value for both patients and hospitals." "We are pleased to announce our commitment to implement GS1 standards," said Rick Cochrane, CEO of Medbuy. "Medbuy believes that resolution of inefficiencies related to data management through adoption of global standards must become an industry imperative." HealthPRO and Medbuy join Premier Inc. (Premier) and Amerinet, two U.S.-based healthcare GPOs, which publicly announced their endorsement of the GS1 System of global supply chain standards. Premier and Amerinet require their trading partners to fully adopt the standards over the next few years. Public and Private Sectors Support Supply Chain Standards ProjectNational stakeholders unite for healthcare safety and interoperability CareNET and GS1 Canada are halfway toward achieving our goal of raising funds to contribute toward the Canadian Healthcare Supply Chain Standards Project (Supply Chain Standards Project). This 15-month initiative, spearheaded by GS1 Canada in partnership with CareNET, will lead to the national adoption of consistent, global supply chain standards. Several provincial government bodies and corporations have recently supported the project and agreed to contribute funds to support the project's success. The latest funding partners are:
Representing the Canadian healthcare sector's interest in using a consistent set of supply chain standards, CareNET also contributed funding to the Supply Chain Standards Project. The CareNET Healthcare Sector Board recognized the importance of helping Canadian healthcare move forward with an initiative that will reduce medical errors, improve quality of work life and decrease costs. National adoption of the new standards created by this initiative will also enable electronic procurement, trading partner and health system interoperability, as well as traceability across the healthcare supply chain. New CareNET Mandate Celebrated At OHA's HealthAchieve 2008
New global standards for the healthcare sector include product identification and location identification standards that uniquely track and trace products, assets and equipment as they move through the healthcare supply chain and on the hospital floor. Global location standards will also enable accurate, efficient traceability in the event of product recalls that have the potential to threaten patient safety if managed improperly. During the exhibition, CareNET and GS1 Canada also shared updates on the Canadian Healthcare Supply Chain Standards Project. We are also pleased to announce that booth visitor Sean Owen of Baycrest won a brand new iPod touch after entering a draw at our booth. Congratulations Sean! Industry Votes On Product Attributes For Consignment InventoryStandards will enhance trading of implantable devices and tissues In an effort to minimize the supply chain pain points associated with consignment inventory, dozens of representatives from healthcare facilities and manufacturers participated in the Consignment Inventory Consensus Meeting on November 3, 2008. This event marked an important first step to help define industry-accepted product attributes for operating room implantable devices and tissues. By discussing and voting on product attributes, participants contributed to the standards development process. The outcome of the efforts will result in all healthcare trading partners with consignment agreements to exchange consistent product attributes and data fields. As several product attributes required further discussion, a post-event teleconference took place on November 20, 2008 and additional industry research will take place in early 2009. Contribute your business and technical healthcare operations expertise to the development of product attributes for consignment inventory for implantable devices and tissues. To join the Consignment Inventory Attribute Task Group, contact Rob Bell at rob.bell@gs1ca.org. The Consignment Inventory Consensus Meeting was held in conjunction with HealthAchieve 2008, and was presented by St. Michael's Hospital and CareNET Services Inc. in partnership with GS1 Canada, and supported by the Ontario Hospital Association. Healthcare Technical Standards Work Group Develops New EDI StandardsWill enhance product ordering, interoperability and efficiency For the first time in Canadian healthcare history, the sector will soon be able to rely on standards-based Electronic Data Interchange (EDI) transaction sets. To help make the Canadian healthcare supply chain safer, interoperable and more efficient, the Healthcare Technical Standards Work Group is developing a consistent set of EDI standards for sharing business information. The group recently completed drafts of the EDI transaction sets for Purchase Order (850) and the Purchase Order Acknowledgment (855). The group achieved consensus on the development of "swim lanes", which show the flow of electronic information between trading partners, as well as attribute names, definitions, business rules and rationale. Through the 15-month Canadian Supply Chain Standards Project, six transaction sets will be standardized and available to all CareNET members. In addition to the Purchase Order and Purchase Order Acknowledgement, the group will further expand upon their work by drafting four more healthcare-specific EDI standards:
The Healthcare Technical Standards Work Group was formed to enhance and develop additional healthcare standards. Members apply their healthcare operations and technical electronic commerce expertise to develop and maintain healthcare-specific standards. Members include more than 35 individuals representing the provider, supplier, group purchasing organization (GPO), network gateway and software provider communities. Manitoba Expands Its e-Commerce ActivityIncreased EDI adoption has led to increased efficiency By replacing manual, paper-based product ordering processes with electronic ones, healthcare providers in Manitoba greatly improved their efficiency and productivity. Currently, over 85% of Manitoba hospitals are CareNET members, and several rural hospital sites are investigating electronic ordering to achieve the gains made by their peers. For years, Brandon Regional Hospital, St. Boniface General and Health Sciences Centre of Winnipeg were the only healthcare providers in Manitoba that were members of CareNET. However, that changed in 2006 as Winnipeg-based hospitals Concordia, Grace General, Misericordia, Riverview Health Centre, Seven Oaks General and Victoria General joined, along with the Deer Lodge Centre in Winnipeg in 2007. As new member hospitals launched e-commerce programs, they quickly expanded the number of electronic transactions with vendors. Most healthcare providers now actively trade online with over 20 of their largest vendors. Long-time CareNET members also made gains. Health Sciences Centre installed a new purchasing system that required comprehensive testing of its e-commerce program and increased its electronic transaction volumes by bringing stock and non-stock purchasing volumes online. Jade Karsin, Regional Manager, Procurement, and a member of the CareNET Healthcare Sector Board, stated, "our electronic ordering volumes are higher than ever." Since June 2008, Kevin Maslechko, Supervisor Procurement, St. Boniface General, has worked with his network gateway and buyer to replace the hospital's purchase order delivery system with an advanced, online one. He has also converted vendors' purchase order acknowledgements to email notices delivered directly to the purchasing department. "We converted many vendors from fax purchase orders to electronic ones and added more than 30 vendors to our electronic ordering process in the past two months." Upcoming Healthcare EventsNetwork with members of Canada's healthcare community CAPDM Executive Conference CAPDM's Executive Conference offers a unique one-on-one business appointment component, providing a private, focused forum where distributors meet directly with their trading partners. Expert speakers also present important information on regulatory and commercial developments that can affect your success in the marketplace. Get more information on CAPDM's Executive Conference. Health Care Supply Chain Management and Co-Located 2nd Annual RFID in Health Care RFID Journal will host its second-annual RFID in Health Care event, co-located with the 3rd Annual Leadership Summit on Healthcare Supply Chain Management. RFID in Health Care is the one event where you can hear from health care providers and leading early adopters share real-world case studies that reveal the business benefits of Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) technology. Get more information on RFID in Healthcare. CareNET and GS1 Canada will be featured at this event, as Rob Bell, Director, Healthcare, GS1 Canada will speaking at the event. |
Recent News Associations Align to Advance Patient Safety and Healthcare Supply Chain Efficiencies CareNET and GS1 Canada Enter into Strategic Alliance Newsletters |
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