|
CENTER FOR HEALTHCARE SUPPLY CHAIN RESEARCH AND SAP JOINTLY RELEASE WHITE PAPER ON TECHNOLOGIES AND STRATEGIES SUPPORTING THE CENTER’S BLUEPRINT FOR DATA SHARING AND DATA MANAGEMENT
Arlington, VA – August 19, 2008 – Part of an ongoing series of topical white papers, The Center for Healthcare Supply Chain Research and SAP Labs, LLC, today jointly released SAP® Support of the Healthcare Supply Chain’s Ongoing Effort to Ensure Patient Safety and Drive Business Value. This white paper provides an in-depth summary of how SAP supports the Center’s Blueprint for Data Sharing and Data Management in the healthcare supply chain. The white paper also focuses on short- and long-term business improvement opportunities that may be achieved by companies that leverage serialization and electronic product code information services (EPCIS), the cornerstone of the Center’s Blueprint.
The Center’s Blueprint presents a future vision for tracking and tracing prescription medicines from the beginning to the end of the healthcare supply chain, and outlines the technologies and steps that can enable companies to share and manage item-level product data. The Blueprint recommends a phased approach to data management and data sharing between trading partners. The strategic path forward described in the Blueprint takes into account the variability of technology systems across the supply chain and is designed to accommodate companies with advanced IT capabilities, as well as those that lack the capital for major technology investments. Each level is based on incremental, ongoing investments and can be customized to meet individual company needs.
The white paper explains how the SAP solutions for auto ID and item serialization can be used to support data management and data sharing, as outlined in the Center for Healthcare Supply Chain Research’s Blueprint. These solutions can be used to automatically identify, track and trace individual items in the healthcare supply chain using unique serial numbers. The Center’s Blueprint and SAP solutions for auto-ID and item serialization support both RFID-based and barcode-based technologies. The SAP solutions focus on the utilization of EPCIS data to support data management and data sharing in the healthcare supply chain.
“EPCIS provides supply chain partners with features of interoperability, bi-directional communication and data security. It is adaptable to a variety of operating systems, programming languages and database management systems,” said Karen J. Ribler, EVP & COO of the Center for Healthcare Supply Chain Research. “The Blueprint is based on EPCIS, the building block for data management and data sharing, and can facilitate the industry's goals of enhanced patient safety, increased supply chain visibility and greater business efficiencies.”
“Data management and data sharing are critical business capabilities for participants collaborating in today’s supply chain to enhance product security, as well as deliver solid business value in numerous supply chain management and healthcare applications,” said Lori Mitchell-Keller, senior vice president, Suite Solution Management, SAP AG. “The Center’s Blueprint and the SAP solutions for auto-ID and item serialization are aligned to deliver this vision.”
The SAP Support of the Healthcare Supply Chain’s Ongoing Effort to Ensure Patient Safety and Drive Business Value white paper is available for download on the Center’s Web site at www.HCSupplyChainResearch.org.
About the Center
The Center for Healthcare Supply Chain Research, formerly the HDMA Research and Education Foundation, is a 501(c)(3) non-profit charitable organization that serves as the knowledge partner of the Healthcare Distribution Management Association (HDMA).The Center is committed to serving the healthcare industry by providing research and education specifically focused on priority healthcare supply chain issues. The Center’s mission is twofold: To conduct research and disseminate information that will enhance the knowledgebase, efficiency and effectiveness of the total healthcare supply chain; and to provide thought leadership to further enhance the safety and security of the healthcare supply chain through future focused study and programming.
SAP and all SAP logos are trademarks or registered trademarks of SAP AG in Germany and in several other countries.
All other product and service names mentioned are the trademarks of their respective companies.
SAP Forward-looking Statement
Any statements contained in this document that are not historical facts are forward-looking statements as defined in the U.S. Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Words such as “anticipate,” “believe,” “estimate,” “expect,” “forecast,” “intend,” “may,” “plan,” “project,” “predict,” “should” and “will” and similar expressions as they relate to SAP are intended to identify such forward-looking statements. SAP undertakes no obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statements. All forward-looking statements are subject to various risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from expectations The factors that could affect SAP's future financial results are discussed more fully in SAP's filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission ("SEC"), including SAP's most recent Annual Report on Form 20-F filed with the SEC. Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements, which speak only as of their dates. |
