GHX Publishes Education Paper to Assist Suppliers with Global Location Number Sunrise Compliance

LOUISVILLE, Colo., Oct. 14 /PRNewswire/ -- GHX has published a new education paper that documents the steps for healthcare suppliers to take so they can successfully transact with GS1's Global Location Numbers (GLNs), either on the GHX exchange or with another e-commerce provider, and fulfill the December 31, 2010, sunrise date requirements of their group purchasing organization (GPO) partners. The paper also outlines new services that GHX has developed to help suppliers enable the use of GLNs for both of these business purposes. The paper will be available at GHX Booth # 628 during the HIDA MedSurg Conference & Expo, being held this week in Chicago.

GHX recently completed a series of GLN enablement pilots with its customers, including healthcare providers, suppliers and distributors, to support the healthcare community as it implements GLNs and other global data standards in supply chain transactions. During the course of the pilots, GHX and the pilot participants identified new opportunities to help an organization make a smooth transition to implementing and transacting on GLNs. Additionally, new best practices were identified for supplier organizations, which will help with both internal data management and external transactions with customers and other trading partners.

The GHX education paper draws upon the pilot program findings to identify the steps suppliers would take to both use GLNs in supply chain transactions and reference their provider customers in GPO administrative fee reports. The paper provides details regarding the assistance GHX can offer to suppliers who choose to take advantage of GHX's new service offerings, as well as guidance for suppliers who choose to make the transition to GLNs on their own. For more information about the new service offerings, e-mail [email protected].

"Based upon the pilot program findings, GHX and its customers have determined that while GLN implementation touches various aspects of a supplier's operations, there are ways to successfully streamline the time and resources needed to modify data, systems and processes," said Matt Houston, director, Product Management Exchange Services, at GHX. "This new education paper provides valuable lessons and information for suppliers and all of the organizations with which they transact."

About GHX

As the business hub for healthcare, Global Healthcare Exchange, LLC (GHX) enables healthcare providers and suppliers in North America and Europe to reduce costs and improve margins by automating processes, reducing operating expenses and increasing knowledge-based decision making.  Products and services include trading partner connectivity, order and contract management and validation, data synchronization, sales force automation and business intelligence. Equity owners of GHX are 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.

SOURCE GHX