GHX Collaboration Portal Delivers 50 Percent Improvement in Invoice Exception Rates

LOUISVILLE, Colo., June 14, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- GHX measurements show that HealthTrust Purchasing Group (HealthTrust), a group purchasing organization (GPO), has reduced invoice exception rates by 50 percent since deploying the GHX Collaboration Portal during the first quarter of 2009.

The GHX Collaboration Portal is the healthcare industry's only four-way collaborative platform that enables parties to a contract to agree on key terms and conditions, generate an electronic letter of commitment (eLOC) in real-time, have the contract integrated with a distributor on the same day it is executed and activate new pricing with all parties, in less than a week. Without the platform, it can take up to up to 60 days to synchronize contract data.

HealthTrust, based in Nashville, Tenn., uses the GHX Collaboration Portal with its 80 suppliers, 10,000 provider members and its healthcare products distributor, Cardinal Health. According to HealthTrust, the GHX solution enables better alignment with Cardinal Health, so they are able to reduce price discrepancies and inefficiencies that can be caused by delayed contract integration.

"It's important to us that our members and business partners have a streamlined process to use our contracts," said Bill Francis, vice president of Business Solutions at HealthTrust. "Our members now have a solution that includes both upstream and downstream supply chain partners and can help ensure optimal data synchronization. As a result, they are better positioned to realize the savings we've negotiated on their behalf."

The healthcare contracting process is one of the most complex of any industry, with a myriad of challenges, including disparate information technology systems that don't share information or standards. The GHX Collaboration Portal makes it easier to share, in a timely manner, accurate information related to factors such as tier pricing and commitments, customer eligibility and price activation dates, providing a neutral platform through which all parties to a contract can be confident that the price being paid is accurate.

On the same day the contract is executed and transmitted, the tool generates all contract notifications in an optimal format, with critical supply chain linkages, including account numbers, global location numbers, health industry numbers and rebate numbers.

"This GHX Collaboration Portal is a great tool to help all of us in the healthcare industry to improve the expediency and accuracy of contract management," said Mark Rosenbaum, chief customer officer for Cardinal Health. "As more partners continue to adopt this common framework, the entire industry will benefit."

Derek Smith, GHX executive vice president of Marketing and Product Management, said, "Contract synchronization among trading partners has long been a goal of the healthcare supply chain. By using Collaboration Portal, innovative companies like Cardinal Health and HealthTrust are helping drive a new industry standard of better first-time price quality, improved cash flow and higher customer satisfaction."

About GHX

Global Healthcare Exchange, LLC (GHX) makes healthcare more efficient by delivering software and services that enable both healthcare providers and suppliers to increase efficiency, lower costs and provide better patient care. With the largest footprint in healthcare supply chain management, GHX connects more than 80 percent of licensed hospital beds at U.S. hospitals, as well as providers in Canada and Europe, with the suppliers from which they purchase the majority of their medical-surgical supplies. GHX is transforming today's linear healthcare supply chain into the industry's only healthcare supply cloud, providing 360-degree visibility into areas affecting both clinical and financial performance. Working with GHX, organizations can improve business processes, automate supply chain systems and collaborate to solve the tough challenges facing healthcare today. GHX is owned by members of the healthcare industry, including Abbott Exchange, Inc.; AmerisourceBergen Corp.; Baxter Healthcare Corp.; B. Braun Medical Inc.; BD; Boston Scientific Corp.; Cardinal Health, Inc.; Covidien; C.R. Bard, Inc.; Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc.; GE Healthcare; HCA; Johnson & Johnson Health Care Systems Inc.; McKesson Corp.; Medtronic USA, Inc.; Owens & Minor; Premier, Inc.; Siemens; University HealthSystem Consortium; and VHA Inc.  For more information, visit www.ghx.com. Follow GHX on Twitter @GHX_LLC and on Facebook @GHX.

SOURCE GHX