In Canada, healthcare trading partners can communicate with one another using a system built by the not-for-profit GSI, an international standards organization focused on supply chains. Its tool is the Global Data Synchronization Network (GDSN), which synchronizes product information amongst suppliers, partners and customers.
But exploiting GDSN is another matter. Shops need to access the technology, and have services that allow GDSN to be shared effectively by participants. This involves network services and specific tools built around GDSN.
Now Canadian telecom provider, Telus and Commport are joining forces to offer a broad array of services to GDSN users in the healthcare field.
The deal actually centers around two distinct services: document management and data synchronization via GDSN amongst partners.
In the GDSN space, Telus will join in marketing Commport’s Health Solutions offerings. One Commport tool is CGS Datapool, which gives users a “single point of entry” when synchronizing their data on GDSN. Commport also offers consulting so healthcare customers can plot out there future GDSN plans.
Getting to Know GDSN
GDSN essentially computerizes product information, creating a standard that does away with paper catalogs and price sheets, and replaces myriad proprietary ways of providing product details.
Not only is this manual, paper and proprietary document-oriented situation confusing, but there is often no way of telling if the product information is even accurate.
With GDSN, there is a single way to describe products, a single location for product information, and a single database that is updated just once to reflect changes in pricing or specs. All this is handled by a set of 27 separate data pools for different industries such as healthcare. Through the synchronization, not only is the latest information available in the database, but updates can also be sent out proactively to concerned parties.
Also under the arrangement with Telus, both it and Commport will support and market Assure Data Exchange (ADX), a technology that manages documents and document sharing, particularly using EDI. EDI is not new to Commport and the addition of the TELUS ADX community represents an expansion of Commport’s traditional core competency and plans to continue to support the existing Telus ADX community members.
Telus has been building its footprint in the healthcare space. A subsidiary, Telus Health, already offers the automation of health and medical records. This group just acquired PC Suite EMR, the largest medical records company in Canada.
The automation of medical records is a big time saver for busy Canadian doctors who operate under a nationalized system. In fact, the Canadian government offers $28,000 grants for those that install medical records automation software.
Edited by
Brooke Neuman
