NFU chooses SRC-PIM with regard to data disclosure in GDSN for LIR and MDR

Date
April, 2020
Author
Yolanda Bokking

Starting May 26, 2020, hospitals are required to comply with the MDR (Medical Device Regulation) and already from January 1, 2020, they will have to supply product data to the LIR (Landelijk Implantatenregister; National Registry for Implants).

To meet the demands of the MDR, hospitals will be expected to process product data from the GDSN data pool. The NFU (Nederlandse Federatie van Universitair Medische Centra; Dutch Federation of University Medical Centers) has done extensive research into the best way to approach this for affiliated hospitals. This search led to the decision to choose SRC-PIM, provided by SRC System Integrators.

Yolanda Bokking, General Process and Data Manager from acquisition at Amsterdam UMC and Member of the NFU Data Management Group, is happy to explain the choice for SRC:

“We were looking for a solution that not only supplies product data from GDSN in a file, but also has a clear added benefit.  We made the conscious decision to look outside the boundaries of our own sector in order to learn from industries that have considerable experience in working with this type of solution. Above all, we did not want to have to re-invent the wheel. SRC turned out to have ample knowledge of barcoding, exchanging product data and GDSN. Furthermore, they have a relationship with GS1 going back many years.

Their PIM solution offers us the chance to collect product data and adapt or supplement it where necessary, before the data is transferred fully automatically to the ERP system.

 

The possibility is also assessed whether the data can be simultaneously loaded into the EPIC EPD system.

Since SCR-PIM allows us to verify whether product data is not only compliant with the GS1 validation rules, but also with our own supplemental validation rules, we can be certain that only approved product data gets stored in the ERP systems. This constitutes an important quality check. Also, when product data is altered by a supplier, we will receive an automatic notification so we can see what has been changed. As soon as the altered data has been approved, it can be automatically transferred to the ERP system.

This means that we don’t have to actively look for any potential changes to product data.”

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Case study
The proof of concept was carried out in collaboration with a supplier whose product range includes around eleven thousand items. Amsterdam UMC only makes use of a select portion of this supplier’s products. When asked about the enormous amount of data that was suddenly being received, Yolanda replies:

“Thankfully, that turned out to be no problem at all. Not only is all product data from those eleven thousand items received quickly and easily within SRC-PIM, but the system also makes it easy to select whether or not we want to receive product data for specific products.

Thanks to the filter function, looking for specific products or product data is very straightforward. At Amsterdam UMC, we are working with both SAP and Oracle, and we expect that the implementation of SRC-PIM will allow us to make even better use of the possibilities that both these systems have to offer. We are therefore looking forward to rolling out SRC-PIM with its fully-automated connection.”