Standards debunk the “uniqueness” of healthcare

In my line of work, I have the distinct honor to meet and work with healthcare organizations from around the world. I use the word “honor” very purposefully, because it is through these connections that I am able to see and learn about how many different organizations are tackling what are surprisingly similar problems. Many of those problems are ones that can be addressed, at least in part, through greater use of global data standards. And one of the questions I am asked most frequently is: Which countries or regions of the world are the most advanced in the area of data standards? My answer is: No one holds a leading position when it comes to standards. Rather, there are pockets of excellence, often housed within a single hospital or healthcare system that has employed the use of standards to address a particular healthcare challenge. In fact, sometimes the same healthcare system that excels in the use of standards in one area — say capturing product identifiers at the point of care — is the least advanced in another area, such as use of organization and location identifiers in contracts or transactions. The point is, there are many organizations around the world making progress, albeit in different areas, and we can all stand to benefit by sharing what we have done and learned along the way.

One of the untapped areas of opportunity for shared learning is across international borders. A common misperception, I believe, is that because healthcare systems vary from country to country, there is little value in sharing lessons learned. This is perhaps most notable when it comes to comparing the United States with other countries. But the differences in how healthcare is paid for should not be interpreted as differences in how healthcare is delivered. No matter who pays the bill, hospitals everywhere are struggling with the same issues, from the need for more efficient supply chain operations to better data about the products used in patient care.

At no time have these similarities been more apparent to me than when I heard an executive from the People’s Liberation Army General Hospital (PLAGH) speak at the recent GS1 Global Healthcare Conference in Beijing. With 4,000 patient beds, and more than 1 million admissions and nearly 4 million outpatient visits annually, the PLAGH is certainly of a different magnitude than most hospitals, but the problems faced are strikingly similar. Just consider some of what Wang Jian, the PLAGH director of medical affairs, had to say:

• “Consignment of high dollar items in the operating room requires manual work and manual work has many errors.”
• “Nurses complain that they have to record and count products for hours, every day.”
• We need to build a product data base to connect with enterprise system information so doctors and nurses can focus on their professional work.”

These, and many of his other comments, could have easily been uttered by a hospital executive in North America, Europe or elsewhere. Mr. Jian went on to say that demands on clinicians’ time previously led to underreporting of adverse events, something his hospital is seeking to resolve through use of GS1 barcodes. Barcodes, he says, can also help create better product traceability; the hospital can track a product from manufacturer through distribution to ensure its authenticity and proper handling and then record when and where the product was used and on which patient. In the past, he says, hospitals had to rely on manufacturers for this information.

Chinese regulators are paying close attention to what is happening in the United States as they get ready to issue their own version of the unique device identification (UDI) rule, which will reportedly be very similar to the U.S. regulation. Mr. Jian says regulation is propelling improvement in the management of medical devices in China, thanks in large part to manufacturers that are labelling their products with GS1 barcodes. The Hospital Association of China, meanwhile, is working with over 100 hospitals to build a data platform for better traceability. The success, Mr. Jian says, rests on all stakeholders coming together to leverage their common problems. Even greater success, I would argue, rests on how well we as a global healthcare industry can share our collective lessons learned on the path to global data standards adoption so that we can accelerate our time to value.

In healthcare, many people still contend that it is hard to learn from other industries because “healthcare is different.” I would counter that we can still learn by understanding the fundamentals and applying them to healthcare; but, if we are reluctant to learn from others, then, at the very least, let’s learn from one another.