A new survey of providers, device manufacturers and distributors concluded that there is a much larger movement toward integrating global standards into the healthcare supply chain, announced the Health Industry Group Purchasing Association.
The survey was conducted by the University of Arkansas Center for Innovation in Healthcare Logistics in conjunction with the Association for Healthcare Resource & Materials Management.
According to the survey, 68 percent of respondents said they were moving toward global standards over the next five years, compared to just 35 percent who answered the same survey question two years ago.
Of those respondents moving toward global standards, 90 percent say they are implementing GS1 standards--considered the industry's highest standard for supply chain compliance. And 76 percent say they will use global location numbers--essentially a locating device that allows distributors and supply recipients to more easily communicate electronically.
"Globally recognized data standards that are created for entity locations are critical to ensuring patient safety and supply chain efficiencies and to reducing healthcare costs," said HIGPA President Curtis Rooney. "Because global standards are imperative for the efficient recall of defective devices and other supplies that can jeopardize patient health, GPOs aggressively worked toward adoption for healthcare provider locations months ahead of the healthcare industry's already ambitious schedule."
For more:
- read the Healthcare Finance News article
- read the HIGPA press release