For Immediate Release: Aug. 20, 2007
DLA 07-44 Media Contact: DSCP Public Affairs (215) 737-2311
dena.selko@dla.mil
Manufacturers Recognized for Excellence by DoD and Veterans Affairs
Fort Belvoir, VA. – The U.S. Departments of Defense and Veterans Affairs (VA) today announced that BD, Retractable Technologies, Inc. and Sage Products, Inc., have each been named a 2007 Champion in the first DoD/VA Awards for Healthcare Product Data Quality. The awards recognize medical/surgical manufacturers that have met certain data quality specifications to effectively contribute to the internal data synchronization program at the DoD and VA.
The DoD and VA award honors eight leading manufacturers in two esteemed designations:
· Champion -- for manufacturers that meet the most stringent criteria, and;
· Leader -- for manufacturers that exceed data quality requirements at the item level – including coverage, completeness of packaging and frequency of updates.
Suppliers named Leaders are: B. Braun Medical, Inc., Baxter Healthcare Corporation, Cardinal Health, Medegen (now a division of Medical Action Industries) and Propper Manufacturing Company.
Improving healthcare supply chain data not only improves supply chain processes and transactions, it ensures that clinicians have the right supplies to provide quality patient care, according to Fred Downs, chief officer, Prosthetics and Clinical Logistics Office for Veterans Health Administration. “The winning manufacturers share our vision of improving patient safety, reducing wasteful spending and increasing the effectiveness of supply chain transactions. They are proving that data synchronization between manufacturers and hospitals is not only beneficial to all parties, but possible to do.”
“Consistent, standardized and synchronized product information is key to performing the insightful analyses that VA and DoD hospitals need to seize control of their supply chain,” said Colonel Marsha Langlois, director of the Medical Customer Operations Directorate at the Defense Supply Center Philadelphia. “The DoD/VA awards honor our manufacturer partners who recognize the importance of consistent data and are leading efforts in the industry to define the role of suppliers in data synchronization efforts.”
Winners were selected based on multiple criteria that measure the breadth, quality and frequency of product data submitted in support of the DoD/VA internal data synchronization program and pilot DoD/VA Product Data Utility (PDU) — a single source of true, synchronized product information. Data fields evaluated included those that are most needed for efficient supply chain interactions, such as packaging levels and product descriptions. Through the data synchronization program -- and in part due to manufacturers’ support via the contributions of clean, synchronized data -- the DoD and VA have been able to document more than $12.5 million in savings to date.
“While we are seeing exciting results, our work really serves as an interim step that will help us drive efficiencies internally until a larger, industry-wide solution becomes available,” said Kathleen Garvin, program manager for the DoD/VA data synchronization efforts and the pilot PDU. “A PDU in healthcare could bring the same level of efficiencies that data synchronization has brought to many other industries, including the grocery and retail industries.”
About DoD/VA Data Synchronization Program --
The DoD launched a product data synchronization program in 2003 to improve supply chain, reduce costs and ultimately to better support the warfighter. The VA has since joined these data synchronization efforts through DoD/VA Joint Incentive Funding. For more information, visit https://dmmonline.dscp.dla.mil/datasynchronization/datasync.asp
About Defense Supply Center Philadelphia --
Operating within the Defense Logistics Agency and the U.S. Department of Defense, Defense Supply Center Philadelphia annually buys $12.4 billion worth of food, clothing, textiles, medicines, medical equipment and construction and equipment supplies and services for America's warfighters, their eligible dependents and other federal customers worldwide.
About Veterans Health Administration --
The mission of the Veterans Healthcare System is to serve the needs of America's veterans by providing primary care, specialized care, and related medical and social support services. To accomplish this mission, VHA needs to be a comprehensive, integrated healthcare system that provides excellence in health care value, excellence in service as defined by its customers, and excellence in education and research, and needs to be an organization characterized by exceptional accountability and by being an employer of choice.
About the Military Health System --
The mission of the MHS is to enhance the Department of Defense and our Nation's security by providing health support for the full range of military operations and sustaining the health of all those entrusted to its care. The MHS provides medical care through a $42 billion dollar healthcare system consisting of a worldwide network of 70 military hospitals, over 500 military health clinics, and an extensive network of private sector health care partners. The MHS also operates the Uniformed Services University, a nationally recognized medical school and the TRICARE Management Activity, an agency that administers the health plan for the uniformed services, retirees and their families, serving more than 9.1 million beneficiaries worldwide.
DLA provides supply support, and technical and logistics services to the U.S. military services and several federal civilian agencies. Headquartered at Fort Belvoir, Va., the agency is the one source for nearly every consumable item, whether for combat readiness, emergency preparedness or day-to-day operations inside the Department of Defense.
More information about DLA is available at www.dla.mil.
- 30 -