Canadian Pharmaceutical Distribution Network's Hospitals to Gain Greater Visibility into Pharmaceutical Purchases Through GHX

TORONTO and OAKVILLE, Ontario, Nov. 2, 2010 /PRNewswire/ -- The Canadian Pharmaceutical Distribution Network (CPDN) has joined GHX, enabling participating hospitals to gain greater visibility into their pharmaceutical purchasing. CPDN is a service provider to independent drug manufacturers comprising 19 of the leading pharmaceutical companies serving the Canadian hospital market.

Approximately 80 percent of Canadian hospitals that maintain accounts with pharmaceutical companies use the CPDN Program to consolidate ordering and delivery of pharmaceutical products from independent pharmaceutical companies. Using the CPDN Web OMS browser-based ordering system, participating hospital pharmacies can place a single order to purchase products from multiple manufacturers, receive the products in a single shipment and make a single invoice payment.

A significant challenge is that most hospital pharmacies conduct their purchasing processes outside of their parent hospitals' central supply chain channels, with the pharmacies placing orders using standalone systems that are typically not integrated with their hospitals' enterprise resource planning (ERP) or materials management information (MMIS) systems. As a result, hospitals frequently experience a visibility gap in their supply chain operations, with the inability to access a centralized view of all of their purchases.  

By joining GHX, CPDN has helped solve this issue for Canadian hospitals that are integrated to the GHX electronic trading exchange. Orders will be placed through the GHX exchange, which integrates with a hospital's ERP and/or MMIS system, enabling participating hospitals to gain greater visibility into their pharmacy purchases. Furthermore, these hospitals can leverage this information to make more strategic purchasing decisions across their organizations, which will also be visible in the CPDN Web OMS system.

"Joining GHX supports our mission to provide the healthcare industry with consolidated and cost-effective buying solutions that meet the needs of both manufacturers and hospitals," said Greg Gauthier, president and CEO of CPDN. "Integrating our CPDN Web OMS system to operate in parallel with the GHX exchange benefits not only pharmaceutical personnel seeking to streamline their ordering processes, but also hospital executives who are interested in gaining greater insights into their overall supply spend."

CPDN is scheduled to begin processing pharmaceutical orders placed through the GHX exchange with an initial hospital customer this fall, with the target of bringing additional hospital sites on board as early as Q1 2011. In addition to placing orders, hospitals connected to GHX will have the ability to process advanced transactions from CPDN, including electronic invoices and electronic shipment notifications, for greater supply chain accuracy and efficiency.

"GHX shares in CPDN's mission to drive cost savings for both healthcare providers and suppliers by improving process efficiency and providing greater visibility into accurate and timely supply chain data," said Nils Clausen, general manager, GHX Canada. "With CPDN processing a substantial volume of pharmacy orders placed by Canadian healthcare providers, their participation in the GHX exchange enables us to significantly expand our reach into the pharmaceutical distribution marketplace."

About GHX

As the business hub for healthcare, Global Healthcare Exchange, LLC (GHX) enables healthcare providers and suppliers in North America and Europe to reduce costs and improve margins by automating processes, reducing operating expenses and increasing knowledge-based decision making.  Products and services include trading partner connectivity, order and contract management and validation, data synchronization, sales force automation and business intelligence. Equity owners of GHX are Abbott Exchange, Inc.; AmerisourceBergen Corp.; Baxter Healthcare Corp.; B. Braun Medical Inc.; BD; Boston Scientific Corp.; Cardinal Health, Inc.; Covidien; C.R. Bard, Inc.; Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc.; GE Healthcare; HCA; Johnson & Johnson Health Care Systems Inc.; McKesson Corp.; Medtronic USA, Inc.; Owens & Minor; Premier, Inc.; Siemens; University HealthSystem Consortium; and VHA Inc.  For more information, visit www.ghx.com.

About Canadian Pharmaceutical Distribution Network (CPDN)

CPDN is celebrating its 16th year of existence as a Service Provider to Independent Drug Manufacturers. The Canadian Pharmaceutical Distribution Network (CPDN) is dedicated to providing hospital pharmacies with a consolidated, economical distribution service for pharmaceutical products. CPDN strives to ensure that the needs of hospitals and industry are met by providing cost effective buying solutions. CPDN facilitates the provision of logistics services to its member companies, which includes leading pharmaceutical companies in the Canadian hospital market.

Today, about 1,200 member companies' pharmaceutical products are accessible through the program. The CPDN Member-Companies are: Abbott Products Inc.; Celgene Corporation.; Astellas Pharma Canada; Amgen Canada Inc.; AstraZeneca Canada Inc.; Bayer Inc.; Valeant Canada Ltd.; Boehringer-Ingelheim (Canada) Ltd.; Eli Lilly Canada Inc.; GlaxoSmithKline Inc.; Hoffmann-La Roche Ltd.; Hospira Healthcare Corporation; Leo Pharma Inc.; Nycomed Canada Inc.; Omega Laboratories Ltd.; Pierre Fabre Pharma Canada Inc.; Purdue Pharma; Schering-Plough, a Merck company; ViiV Healthcare. To learn more about CPDN, please visit www.cpdn.ca.

SOURCE GHX

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