In the heathcare industry, it isn't always easy to accurately assess how much it actually costs to do business. This is according to manufacturer Becton Dickinson and Company and distributor ROi, two organizations who worked together to study the effectiveness of the Perfect Order and Beyond metric and GS1 barcode standards, Healthcare Finance News reports.
Dennis Orthman, who works as a supply chain expert at Strategic Marketing Initiatives, told the source that the industry as a whole can benefit from businesses that take advantage of the Perfect Order measurements in addition to compliance to GS1 standards.
Orthman's company was integral in the implementation of Perfect Order use, which takes a look at the efficiencies of different supply chains. He added that he hopes that, based on the outcome of this case study, other businesses will follow the lead and utilize both Perfect Order and GS1 standards for better label tracking and traceability.
He pointed out how Wal-Mart uses standardized barcodes and because of that, it's been able to offer savings to customers from reduced supply chain waste. Orthman believes that the same strategy could help the healthcare industry.
"Right now we don't have that common language," Orthman told the publication. "Manufacturers and suppliers identify products with one method, and hospitals identify products with another. The dysfunction that those two numbering systems create leads to a great deal of inefficiencies."
Chris Dudley, vice president of integrated business solutions at ROi, said that his organization wants the industry to improve, which is why they took on the project in the first place. Based on the results, he genuinely believes that suppliers and healthcare providers can improve if they take on these standards.
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