January 18, 2016 Industry news
Glen Hodgson, Head of Healthcare at GS1 UK and Kevin Downs, Director of Finance at Derby Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust join forces at the HFMA’s Provider Finance Directors’ Forum
Glen and Kevin participated in the HFMA Provider Finance Faculty Forum on 14 January, at the Landmark hotel in London, to discuss how GS1 standards improve NHS finance, efficiency and patient care. They emphasised how fundamental GS1 standards are as the building blocks for the whole of the healthcare system.
“We look at all parts of the healthcare industry, but our main focus is the Department of Health’s eProcurement strategy,” said Glen. “The great news is that in line with the eProcurement strategy, every single one of the 154 NHS Acute Trusts in England is now a GS1 UK member.”
Being able to identify every person, every product and every place throughout the NHS through the adoption and implementation of GS1 standards, helps prevent mistakes and gives certainty of truth. “Regulatory compliance is critical in the industry – and it can be further enhanced through the use of GS1 standards,” Glen commented.
Derby Teaching Hospitals NHS FT is a big adopter of GS1 standards. Because of Kevin’s background in the retail industry, he understands the value that GS1 standards are bringing to the healthcare industry. “GS1 standards help us single out what really matters”, said Kevin. Throughout his presentation he outlined the processes of scanning, data capture and traceability that benefit from the use of GS1 standards.
Kevin pointed out that products and patients are now scanned within seconds and as there are no manual entries, there is no room for human errors – and also great efficiency benefits. “We don’t get paid for administration tasks – we get paid to treat patients.”
Sharing the data collected from a practical example within their hospital theatre, Kevin outlined the great benefits of GS1 standards and their quantifiable results when implemented. “Since April 2014, our Trust is saving at least £25,000 per month just in the consumables we’re using in general surgery, imaging and cath labs. That’s an annual saving of £300,000.”
Emphasising the importance of GS1 standards in the healthcare industry, Kevin concluded: “It’s just the way we do things, it’s just the Derby way.”