CHICAGO, June 21, 2010 – The thirteen-member board of the Association for Healthcare Resource & Materials Management (AHRMM) of the American Hospital Association reaffirmed its support of the GS1 Global Location Number (GLN) to standardize location identification and its sunrise date of 12/31/2010 at the association’s spring board meeting. AHRMM has been a leader in the effort to adopt and implement data standards for use between trading partners in the global healthcare supply chain.
The GLN is a GS1 standards-based, globally unique thirteen-digit number used to identify locations and supply chain partners. GLNs can be used to identify a functional entity (like a hospital pharmacy or accounting department), a physical entity (like a warehouse or hospital wing or even a nursing station), or a legal entity (like a health system corporation).
While much progress has been made in the industry-wide effort to adopt global standards, there is significant work yet to be done. The “2010 GLN Sunrise” date (December 2010) established by the healthcare industry calls for the adoption of GLNs in lieu of custom account/location numbers. This means that by December 31, 2010: GLNs are assigned by location owners. GLNs are used in appropriate business transactions and processes between trading partners. GLN hierarchy is defined and maintained by location owners. GLN Registry for Healthcare® is used to facilitate correct location identification.
“The AHRMM Board is dedicated to GLN Standard adoption by the sunrise date because we understand the impact data standards will have on improving patient safety and supply chain efficiency,” said AHRMM President Ray Moore. “AHRMM supports GLN for the following reasons: The GLN is the global standard for customer identification; 93 other countries already use this number. It is already in use in 23 other industries within the U.S., many of whose suppliers also sell to healthcare providers. Companies like Wal-Mart, Kroger, Home Depot, Office Max, and others require use of the GLN for all supply chain activities. Healthcare is part of a global business community, so a separate standard for just healthcare isn’t warranted. U.S. healthcare will be better positioned to leverage additional resources and best practices from other industries as global standards become the norm.”
AHRMM developed a website with essential information on all the GS1 standards which also houses tools to help supply chain professionals get started using GLNs in their healthcare facilities. The website compliments a more comprehensive one developed by GS1 Healthcare US, a subsidiary of GS1, the data standards organization. AHRMM will be sponsoring webinars and a bi-weekly newsletter on standards adoption throughout the rest of 2010 to raise awareness and facilitate GLN adoption efforts in hospitals nationwide.