The Challenge: I don’t have the resources to keep my item file data complete and up to date. This impacts my ability to keep my contract file and item file in synch. More importantly, without confidence in my data, I’m not sure my analysis is always accurate.

Maintaining good item data remains a source of frustration for many hospitals. Thorough item file management often requires a dedicated headcount, and the process of using a service for continual data cleansing is expensive. The result? Most hospitals do neither, leaving item files filled with duplicates, unused items, or items with incomplete information.

MediClick recognizes that good item data is essential to managing and analyzing your spend. MediClick for Contracts & Analysis (C&A) uses our Product Index Layer to automatically normalize all the item information coming out of your ERP and into C&A.

With the Product index Layer, our master database of complete information for items used in the healthcare setting, you do not have to cleanse your data to make effective use of C&A. As an essential part of C&A, every time you bring a new item into your ERP, the Product Index Layer recognizes it and enriches it with three key pieces of information before pulling it into C&A:

1. Correct manufacturer name and item number
2. UNSPSC code
3. Standardized product description

Having the correct manufacturer name and item number ensures a high match rate as C&A synchronizes items between your contract file and item file. This ultimately makes for accurate price updates when C&A pushes new contract pricing back into your ERP, helping you take advantage of the pricing immediately when it takes effect.

For organizations integrating C&A with multiple ERP item files, the UNSPSC code and standardized product description allow you to aggregate all of your spend in C&A  and take advantage of its powerful analysis features to do such things as identify product standardization opportunities across the IDN.