Ramsay Health Care signs up to the National Product Catalogue

 

4 June, 2009.  Australia’s largest private hospital group Ramsay Health Care has committed to a national approach to eHealth supply chain reform by signing up to NEHTA’s National Product Catalogue (NPC).
 
Australia’s largest private hospital group Ramsay Health Care has committed to a national approach to eHealth supply chain reform by signing up to NEHTA’s National Product Catalogue (NPC).
 
NEHTA recognises that there is significant safety, quality and cost benefits for the health sector by using a single product catalogue for health. 
 
In line with NEHTA’s goal to identify and foster the development of the right technology necessary to deliver the best e-health system in Australia, the signing of Ramsay Health Care is part of a strategic effort to support collaboration with the private sector and is a significant step towards achieving widespread e-health take-up.
 
NEHTA’s NPC uniquely identifies healthcare products, including medicines and medical devices and equipment, and records important supply chain and clinical information about those products such as the components of products and pack sizes. NEHTA’s objective is that the NPC will be the primary source of data for all health related purchasing in Australia. 
 
As a standardised catalogue the NPC reduces the chance of introducing erroneous data into procurement transactions and the errors and costs these cause. This is particularly important in the healthcare supply chain where getting the right products at the right place and time can be critical to ensuring quality patient treatment.
 
“Ramsay Health Care will benefit greatly from using NPC because many of our vendors are already posting to the NPC. The standards implemented in the NPC will eliminate problems we have had in the past with getting product information in an agreed and standardised format, and provide accuracy improvements throughout our supply chain,” said Andrew Potter Group Inventory Manager Ramsay Health Care.
 
Ken Nobbs, Program Manager - Medical Products NEHTA said that the NPC is an example of the kind of collaboration required to make e-health a reality for Australia. “It’s great to now see both the public and the private sector coming on board to work together to achieve common goals,” he said.
 
Australia is one of the first countries in the world to develop a single, national product catalogue.
Looking ahead Ramsay Health Care is planning to work closely with their suppliers to ensure their full and comprehensive population of NEHTA’s NPC as Ramsay’s primary data source for procurement purposes.
Over the coming months NEHTA expects the uptake of the NPC to increase as other healthcare organisations and suppliers come on board.
 
 
For more information contact Alison Sweeney Media Coordinator 02 8298 2669 This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it