Back
to leedsth.nhs.ukSupplies Website
Information Management
| Introduction to SPAMMIS | e-commerce | Lease Cars | The Team |
e-Commerce Look into the Future
"While the NHS grapples with its e-Procurement plans, The Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust has already made the leap" - Healthcare Finance Journal May 2002
From our perspective, the e-Commerce project with Global Healthcare eXchange (GHX) has already produced major improvements. Item cataloguing processes have been streamlined and invoice queries have been zero for GHX orders since the first order was placed in February 2002. But it is also increasingly possible to see changes in our business processes and in our relationships with suppliers. And while e-Commerce was initially introduced to reduce costs in transacting with suppliers, this flat earth view has evolved and we now see a whole set of new horizons for the Trust.
A PowerPoint presentation which gives an overview of our e-commerce experience can be viewed by clicking here. This draws on both our experience and the experience of many of the presenters at the e-commerce in action conference held in Leeds.
 |
Modernising the procurement profession: the Catheter Labs use manafacturers bar codes and swipe products as they are used next to the patient. A computerised inventory management system has been introduced which operates along similar lines to systems available in major supermarkets. As goods are used, they are passed in front of a bar code scanner and the stock is adjusted accordingly. From this point, the system is totally paperless and orders are scheduled and then encrypted and sent via the internet, directly to the many suppliers necessary to support the Catheter Labs. |
The challenge is to harness this new technology to establish an e-Commerce framework for healthcare procurement in the 21st Century.
The Future of e-Hubs: Findings of an International Delphi Study
A study led by a team of researchers from the Information Systems Research Centre and the Supply Chain Research Centre at Cranfield School of Management during 2003 can be downloaded (by kind permission of Cranfield) in pdf by clicking here.Dephi Study Management Report_v42
For the purposes of this study, e-Hubs are defined as web based systems that link multiple businesses together for the purposes of trading or colloboration. The hub may be owned by one or more of the participating companies, or be owned by an independent third party.
Sectors included in the study include automotive, electronics, healthcare and utilities.
B Braun go-live with GHX at Leeds
B Braun latest supplier to trade with Leeds through GHX
During December 2003 we began trading with B Braun through the Global Healthcare Exchange. The first live order was transmitted on 9th December 2003. We have an annual value of business with B Braun of around £400k per year and look forward to trading with them for many years using the GHX deeply integrated e-commerce system. benefits please click on the following link to a study undertaken by Healthlogistics on behalf of PaSA and GHX.
GHX has a very competitive pricing structure for Suppliers looking to trade with Leeds electronically, starting as low as £100 per annum. For more information, you can download the following pdf files:
- GHX DirectTrade: Fully automated solution. Purchase Orders are sent to Supplier electronically over the internet; POs received directly into supplier's sales ordering system (no human intervention required). Supplier can automatically generate and send back acknowledgements, order status and shipping information.
- GHX GoTrade: Semi-automated solution. Purchase Orders are sent to Supplier electronically; Supplier is provided with local browser application to view orders and provided with capability to reply to Trusts with electronic acknowledgements, order status and shipping information
- GHX EasyTrade: Purchase Order is sent to Supplier in the form of an e-mail. Supplier can reply on e-mail with acknowledgement and order status information.
- GHX Exchange Services: The summary of on-going services that GHX provides to Trusts and Suppliers
The current status (November 2003) of GHX suppliers is shown below:
| Vendor | Catalogue Loaded | Trading |
| Actamed - GB | Y | Y |
| B Braun - UK | Y | T |
| Baxter Medication Delivery - GB | Y | Y |
| Becton Dickinson - GB | Y | Y |
| Boston Scientific - GB | Y | Y |
| CR Bard - GB | Y | Y |
| DePuy Ltd. Div. - GB | Y | Y |
| Ethicon and JJ Medical - GB | Y | Y |
| GE Medical Systems - GB | Y | N |
| Guidant - GB | Y | Y |
| Kimal - GB | Y | Y |
| Medtronic - GB | Y | Y |
| Ortho Clinical Diagnostics Div. - GB | Y | N |
| Tyco Healthcare Ltd. - GB | Y | Y |
| Vitatron - GB | Y | T |
Item Catalogue
Item cataloguing can be a little unglamorous to say the least, but it does bring value to an organisation. Item cataloguing allows analysis of the items that an organisation buys, allowing purchasing staff to make judgments about where they can add most value.
How are we moving to a more consistent and therefore more effective catalogue? The catalogue has already gone through a thorough cleanse for existing items purchased via GHX and this process is continuing. As well as nearly 20,000 GHX items from 5 suppliers, we have also added the full catalogues of Smith & Nephew, Stratec and Claudius Ash (a total of nearly 15,000 items) into a subsidiary of our system. This system also contains around 16,000 items from the NHS Logistics catalogue and the full PASA list of around 250,000 items. This allows us to ensure that new items to our catalogue are added correctly and easily.
The process may not be glamorous, but nonetheless, the correct coding of items is essential to e-Commerce and well worth the investment.
e-Tendering
Since January, the Supplies Department have been using the PrOJECt Online website to use electronic tendering. This is a system that sends the document to OJEC for publication in the Journal via an XML file. Using PrOJECt Online has ensured that we send our tenders in the approved formats and therefore ensure that we are complying with our legal obligation.
The system itself is simple to use and has an automated checking device to see that all of the correct fields are input in the correct format. Of course, this does not stop all user errors, but it is a great improvement.
Work is ongoing to integrate the XML file format into the browser based system currently being developed for supplies information management. This will further enhance the capabilities of the department by each buyer being able to submit tenders rather than using the secretaries to submit on their behalf.
e-Tendering using a simple browser front-end
e-Billing
We have recently been approached by Johnson & Johnson to be a pilot site for e-billing. This has huge cost-saving implications for the Trust and potentially shared services. Essentially the invoice is placed on an extranet site and we are informed by e-mail when an invoice is placed on the site. This has been in use by NHSL for the past two years. For more information visit their web site:
www.microgen.co.uk and click on e-billing services.
e-Requisitioning
e-Requisitioning has been in use in the Trust in CSSD and Theatres for over three years. It provides a simple error free route to providing your requisition to Supplies. The system was limited by the Oracle server and so could not be rolled out further. Since the new Sun Solaris box has been in place, this barrier has been lifted. Since the removal of the barrier, the Supplies Information team have been working hard to sell the idea and to get installs all over the hospital. At present, installs have been made in Radiology and the Dental Institute with Medical Physics (at all three sites) and ISD due to switch on soon.
We have developed our own e-requisitioning tool as part of the SPAMMIS system. The RapidReq system has taken over from the ReqExpress system and is now used in Radiology, GPOT, Medical Physics, Main Theatres and CSSD.
The benefits have already been felt in Radiology with a reduction in lead time allowing them to run at a lower level of stock and having more staff time to put into patient care. Medical Physics expect to see considerable benefits as it is hoped that it will free up a considerable amount of time for two linear accelerator technicians. Supplies have also felt a benefit by a reduction in invoice queries, something that frees our time to spend on value added services.
The browser based NHS Logistics On-Line system is now in use in the niche areas not covered by Materials Management.
On the 11th November 2003 the Facilities Division of the Trust became the first Directorate to entirely commit to the use of Logistics Online; the online ordering system for RSC products.
All departments within facilities at all sites will now use Logistics Online to order stationary, office equipment and hospitality products. This will bring many benefits to the division itself and hopefully to Trust as a whole.
Requisitioners within Facilities will now have a greater degree of control over their orders and be more involved in the ordering process. By having more access to information the user can influence their strategy on purchasing, enabling them to make the right choices in line with Trust aims.
The process also removes the need for paper catalogues and paper requisitions. As well as cutting the paper trail this reduces filing problems. Orders are moved through the chain faster as there is no reliance on the internal postal system. The user is secure in the knowledge that their order is sent immediately and will be processed upon receipt. The user is also reassured that the product being ordered is the one that they desire and will not be misinterpreted in conversion.
The feed back from Facilities is already positive with staff appreciating the improved service being provided by Logistics Online.
Through these initiatives, our user-base is well prepared for the introduction of remote browser based requisitioning systems used in Oracle 11i as part of the Shared Services project.
Contract Management
"The challenge for the NHS is to harness the information revolution and use it to benefit patients"
Rt Hon Tony Blair, July 1998
Proactivity is one of the key factors to successful working. The contracts database is one of the most forward-looking projects currently being worked on by Supplies.
Supplies have consistently demonstrated through their annual review, the added value that the department provides.
Purchasing and contracts staff have played a pivotal role in underpinning the core services of the department. Building on Firm Foundations is the theme of our Supplies Strategy for the current year. Those foundations remain sound.
But what items are on contract, on which contract, how effective is that contract and what value does it add? The contracts database provides all of this.
The contracts database forms part of the Supplies Purchasing And Materials Management Information System
The contracts database provides a fully automated management information and analysis tool. It is also being redeveloped to provide a single repository of item, supplier, contract and related data over the Internet, a fully scalable solution of integration with Shared Services if required.