пятница, 14 сентября 2012 г.

Pediatric supply choice expected to grow for GHX users thanks to deal with CHCA.(Group Purchasing)(Child Health Corp. of America, Global Healthcare Exchange) - Hospital Materials Management

Child Health Corp. of America (CHCA), Shawnee Mission, Kan., in February signed a contract with Global Healthcare Exchange (GHX), Westminster, Colo., for internet-based electronic commerce services.

The deal runs for three years, and provides undisclosed discounts on connection fees for the group's 41 member hospitals. Members will be able to order from contracts over the GHX e-commerce network. CHCA is an affiliate of Premier, Oak Brook, Ill., and brings $1.8 billion in annual purchasing volume to that relationship.

Participating CHCA hospitals will connect to GHX using Connect Plus[TM] integration software to link their enterprise resource planning (ERP) and materials management information systems (MMIS).

In addition to connectivity, GHX will enable participating CHCA hospitals to synchronize their internal product data, such as item number and unit of measure, with that of suppliers, using the accuracy of the supplier-verified AllSource catalog.

One early participant is Miami Children's Hospital, Miami, 188 beds.

Director of materials services Stephen Boyle said the integration will help streamline the supply chain by linking data and transactions among departments.

'We chose to work with GHX because of its technical capabilities in terms of connectivity, data synchronization and reporting, as well as its significant supplier participation, which can enhance collaboration across the entire supply chain,' Boyle said.

About 150 suppliers currently participate in the GHX exchange. GHX, which began as a joint venture by several major suppliers, said now that it has the CHCA agreement, it will seek to bring in more manufacturers of pediatric supplies.

CEO Mike Mahoney said, 'Together we can work with suppliers to advance the adoption and use of industry standards to further improve accuracy in the supply chain and facilitate electronic communication of information.

Meanwhile, CHCA is planning a vendor conference in the near future to encourage those suppliers to participate in GHX.