GHX Working with Hospitals and Suppliers to Enable Use of Industry Standard Location and Organization Identifiers in Transactions and Compliance with GLN Su...(more efficient and effective healthcare ...),Health

"At BJC, we currently have to manage up to 460,000 different account numbers for our 100 ship-to locations. Having each of our trading partners use the same number to identify each of those locations would greatly simplify data management, as well as minimize product delivery and invoice errors." Eligibility for contract pricing is determined in part by where products are shipped.

LeMaster says use of GLNs can also assist in product recalls and product utilization reporting. "Industry standards can improve both patient safety and business performance," she added.

A GLN is a unique 13-digit number specific to only one very precise location within the world. It can be used to identify a functional entity, such as a hospital pharmacy or accounting department; a physical entity, such as a warehouse or hospital wing or even a nursing station; or a legal entity such as a health system corporation. When trading partners all identify the same organization or location the same way, they can streamline business processes, e.g., chargeback and rebates, reduce discrepancies and rework, facilitate correct contract pricing, and enhance management of highly dynamic data.

"GHX has become the primary method by which providers and suppliers transact supply chain business electronically in North America," says Patrick McCarthy, vice president, GHX Exchange Services. "By bringing hospitals and suppliers together to determine best practices around standards use and provide services to support their efforts, GHX is playing an active role in supporting the growing movement toward standards adoption and use, and more importantly the realization of the value they offer to the industry."