Healthcare Leaders Tackle Contract Administration Challenges
Data Alignment, Pricing Accuracy Are Top Priorities Of HIDA Conference
Alexandria, VA, Feb. 21, 2023 – HIDA’s Healthcare Supply Chain Collaborative recently concluded its annual Contract Administration Conference on February 6-8 in Cape Coral, FL. The conference brought together more than 150 contract management professionals from across the healthcare supply chain, including distributors, manufacturers, group purchasing organizations, and providers.
The Contract Administration Conference tackled longstanding issues of data misalignment between stakeholders, with the goal of enhancing pricing accuracy and reducing rework. “Pricing errors waste time and money for everyone in the healthcare supply chain,” noted HIDA Senior Vice President Elizabeth Hilla. “This conference allows trading partners to find ways to prevent mistakes and rework, and free up staff time for other priorities.”
Topics of discussion included:
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Data Standardization: Participants discussed how third-party identifiers such as Global Location Numbers and Unique Device Identifiers help trading partners accurately share information. Standard formats for data-sharing allow for greater automation and processes.
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Technology Solutions: The conference featured case studies showing how technology can be leveraged to improve contract administration. Several participants in a blockchain pilot for healthcare contract data, for example, think the solution can provide a common source of truth across the supply chain.
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Collaboration With Trading Partners: Most importantly, the conference facilitated face-to-face dialogue between professionals from different types of organizations, helping them to understand how their decisions impact their trading partners. As one panelist noted, the savings from contract agreements “go away really quickly if we have a lot of transaction issues.”
The Contract Administration Conference built on HIDA’s ongoing initiative to improve pricing accuracy. Resources resulting from this work include the HIDA’s Contract Administration Standards, recommended formats for contract communications, and a new toolkit for GPO admin fee reporting.
About HIDA
Health Industry Distributors Association (HIDA) represents the healthcare distribution network – the essential link between global healthcare supply manufacturers and local care providers. HIDA members operate more than 500+ distribution centers to bring critical products, supplies, and services to more than 560,000 healthcare settings across the U.S., including hospitals, long-term care, physician practices, home care, and laboratories. Visit HIDA.org.