GHX Healthcare Supply Chain Summit Confronts Realities of Global Data Standards Implementation

Industry-wide collaboration critical to healthcare data and process standardization

LOUISVILLE, Colo., May 2, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- As healthcare seeks to deliver quality care at an affordable price, providers and suppliers are increasingly turning to data and process standardization to help drive efficiencies, reduce costs and make more informed business decisions. At the 2012 GHX Healthcare Supply Chain Summit (May 7-9, 2012 in Orlando), industry experts and representatives from across the healthcare supply chain will confront the realities of standardizing and integrating disparate data, processes and systems, and share best practices for deriving the greatest value from these activities.

"As we've seen in the retail sector, industry-wide collaboration is critical to global data standards adoption because of the interdependent relationship of trading partners throughout the healthcare supply chain," said Derek Smith, executive vice president, Marketing and Product Management, GHX. "GHX is working with its members to determine how we can bring together disparate parties, processes and systems to help promote the adoption and use of standardized data, in much the same way that we came together in the early days of e-commerce to standardize business transactions."

With growing interest in global data standards adoption among GHX members and within the greater healthcare community, this year's Summit will feature educational sessions designed to help promote the adoption and use of standard data and processes among trading partners. These sessions include:


Standards and Master Data Management: The Road Travelled, A Path Forward


Date/Time: Tuesday, May 8 from 10:45 a.m. – 12 p.m.


Summary: Finding a single version of truth for organization, location and product identification has been difficult for providers and suppliers alike. Gartner's lead analyst for master data management (MDM) Andrew White, will share first-hand experiences that other industries, such as retail, have faced when implementing standards and present how these lessons learned can be applied to the healthcare industry as it undertakes a similar course toward data and process standardization.


Presenter: Andrew White, research vice president, Gartner


Standards in Healthcare: A Prisoner's Dilemma?


Date: Tuesday, May 8 from 2 - 3:15 p.m.


Summary: In many ways, standards adoption presents a "Prisoner's Dilemma," in which both providers and suppliers recognize that they each can benefit but find it difficult to coordinate activities to achieve success. Gartner research analyst, Eric O'Daffer, will present a report on the current state of global data standards within the healthcare industry and moderate a panel of providers and suppliers who will share real-world challenges faced, and benefits derived, from standards implementation. The panel discussion will explore how to identify areas in which to obtain the greatest value from standards, building a business case for adoption, securing the necessary resources to make it happen and the critical role of trading partner collaboration in standards success.


Presenters: Eric O'Daffer, research analyst, Gartner; Rosalind Parkinson, chief supply chain officer, The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center; Dennis Black, director, e-Business, BD; Thad Mac Krell, vice president, Commercial Technology Group, Owens & Minor

The GHX Healthcare Supply Chain Summit will also feature an in-person meeting of the GHX Global Data Standards User Group, which provides a forum for GHX members to learn more about global data standards, their impact on healthcare and how to work with GHX to help enable their use. During the meeting on Monday, May 7 from 4:15 to 5:30 p.m., participants will hear about progress being made within GHX to promote the adoption and usage of standards, and learn from peers.

About GHX
Global Healthcare Exchange, LLC (GHX), a healthcare technology and services company, helps reduce the cost of doing business in healthcare by enabling better supply chain management. GHX makes it easier for hospitals, other healthcare providers and the suppliers that do business with them to drive cost and inefficiency out of their processes. Working with GHX, the healthcare organizations that make up the GHX Global Network are on track to save $5 billion by 2014—savings that can be invested in such things as hiring more nurses, providing care to uninsured children or developing new medical products. GHX is owned by organizations on both the buy and sell side of the healthcare supply chain, including some of the largest companies in the world. Find GHX on the Web, on Twitter @GHX_LLC and on Facebook @GHX.

SOURCE GHX