The ability to store and share reliable information, Complete and updated between all stakeholders in the health sector, is a critical and foundational component for the transition to an electronic health system in this country.

The regulatory body in the field The National E-Health Transition Authority (NEHTA), He has worked with GS1 Australia to integrate suppliers healthcare products to the use of global standards for sharing information and product prices to all buyers, including government and private sector.

Within the categories considered in the catalog, drugs are, Medical Devices (orthopedic prostheses, implant devices, dental products, equipment, etc.) and medical consumables. National product catalog National Product Catalogue (NPC) allows exchange of any item master information safely, can communicate all product identifiers, such as their descriptions, Units of measurement, packaging content, classifications regulations necessary or authority, and particular requirements of each of the considered industries. The basis of this catalog is the GS1 barcode GTIN (Global Trade Item Number).

 

NEHTA states that the full implementation of the national catalog of products can help achieve savings in the public health sector above the 200 million Australian dollars a year (Deloitte, 2004), through the assurance of reliable data valid and updated, as well as improved communications and operations of the entire supply chain.

The same authority has developed a solution for electronic orders (eProcurment), based message format standardized by GS1.

As of July 2012 over 380 organizaciones del sector salud se encontraban participando de forma específica en el catálogo nacional de productos. Algunas empresas representativas de la cadena del sector salud, tales como Terumo, Aboott, ArjoHunteleigh y Cook Medical, han experimentado los beneficios que el catálogo nacional de productos les ha dado tanto al nivel de la cadena de suministro como en los procesos de pedido en Australia.

Algunos de los puntos clave que comentan las empresas participantes de esta iniciativa respecto a la implementación son:

Abbott Australia: empresa transnacional proveedora principalmente de productos farmacéuticos, decidió adoptar el catálogo nacional de productos al reconocerlo como el proceso fundacional para todas las transacciones de negocio del futuro. He started the project in April 2007 and managed to publish data a couple of months later. Currently he has published about 4,000 products through its various divisions: drugs, nutritionals, Medical Devices, inter alia.

The main benefits are in the process of maintaining product data, which can be shared at the local level and the global office while loading data into the network synchronization GS1 is prepared (GDSN), also reflected in the reduced time for preparing the sample development, whereas now everyone can relate to a single data source and the company can now send the same information, across multiple formats, their different partners directly by the national catalog of products.

ArjoHuntleigh: Global company responsible for developing products and services that help the health sector personnel to make it easier mobility. The incorporation of standards in its processes started as a need to participate in a tender in which the NPC was required. The process was relatively quick, however, had to make a three-day intensive training to different members of the organization. Once done, it required a total of three months to clean, upload and publish all information necessary for bidding, and for all the processes come in the future. Currently the company has most of its products in the catalog. Among the benefits that the company has obtained are the have a process already established for any tender requiring the use Catalogue, having 90% their data in this repository (the 10% remaining is supplementary information, More specifically, provided by different routes). On the other hand, the count data stored safely and consistently in the catalog, has enabled it to support all staff of the organization involved in the recruitment process, Prices and preparation of technical specifications for accessing stored data, making more efficient process for the customers themselves.

In the future, the key factor is a constant process of maintenance, within which there is a functional team responsible for each of the types of processes to which the information refers each product, to extend the use of the system to other areas of the organization (commercial, logistics, inventory control, etc.).

Cook Medical: Global company developing and manufacturing products for critical care, general surgery, diagnostic and interventional procedures, bioengineered tissue replacement, gastroenterology, inter alia. Like other companies as a result of mandatoriedad for public tenders, adopted the national catalog of products, this implementation process lasted approximately eight months, el cual arrancó con la habilitación del personal involucrado. Con ello lograron tener alrededor de 6,000 artículos dentro del catálogo disponibles para 11 de los principales clientes, trabajando muy de la mano con NEHTA. Al cumplir con este requisito han podido anticiparse a la integración de procesos de compras electrónicas con alrededor de 400 hospitales permitiéndoles integrar información de un producto y haciéndola accesible a todas las áreas involucradas, reduciendo el tiempo de contacto con los clientes y agregando valor a las actividades del personal que anteriormente estaba involucrado en la gestión de datos maestros.

Terumo: empresa con sede en Tokio, fabrica y distribuye un rango de productos quirúrgicos. El establecimiento de un plan para la implementación del catálogo nacional de productos, consideró cuatro fases fundamentales:

1. Análisis: dentro de esta fase se respondió una serie de preguntas fundacionales, tales como procesos nuevos a implementar, sitios en donde se alojan actualmente la información de productos, qué tanto cambian los precios y datos maestros, y principalmente un análisis de las brechas existentes. Estas se centraron principalmente, en saber dónde se alojaría todo el cese de datos internamente, qué tan frecuente tendría que ser la carga de los mismos y quiénes tendrían que estar involucrados en el proceso.

2. Investigation: análisis de los procesos actuales, recursos necesarios, equipo involucrado y otros elementos identificados en el análisis de brechas.

3. Preparing Data: cleaning process definition, review processes, maintenance policy and analysis of current processes.

4. Implementation: data upload to the national catalog of products GS1 and commissioning of the entire maintenance process (GS1, 2012, 2).

Sources of interest

• Alatorre, A. (16 January 2013). Health unify betting services. Reform, p. 3.
• GS1 (2012). GS1 Annual Report 2011 – 2012. Brussels: GS1. Retrieved fromwww.gs1.org/services/publications/online
• GS1 (2012). GS1 Healthcare Reference Book 2012/2013. Brussels: GS1
• OECD (2012). Getting it right: a strategic agenda for reforms in Mexico. Mexico City: OECD. Retrieved fromwww.oecd.org/centrodemexico/Getting It Right EBOOK.pdf

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If your organization is interested in participating in a pilot or implementation in Healthcare please contact Carlos Ramos, Manager of Research and Innovation in GS1 Mexico (cramos@gs1mexico.org).