DoD Joins the Offensive for eStandards
Public sector expertise rounds out
Coalition for Healthcare eStandards efforts
Ann Arbor, MI (June 25, 2002) - The Coalition for Healthcare eStandards,
Inc. (CHeS) has announced that the United States Department of
Defense’s Defense Logistics Agency is now one of its core
members. The Coalition is dedicated to generating acceptance of
industry-wide e-commerce standards.
ìWe have long recognized the
substantial benefits gained by partnering with the other major
federal and commercial organizations that make up the
nation’s healthcare supply chain. Our Agency has and will
continue to be an active contributor to the medical community
in its continuous search for new ways to improve its
efficiency. We fully support and appreciate the objectives of
CHeS and are proud to be one of its core members,î says
Colonel Donald Buchwald, Director of the Defense Logistics
Agency’s Defense Supply Center Philadelphia Medical
Directorate.
“With the Defense Logistics Agency as
a member, CHeS can now benefit from a truly global perspective
as the agency manages a supply chain for military troops around
the world. We are really looking forward to having such a
prominent public sector organization helping us advocate
standards to industry participants, including providers and
suppliers,” says Mark McDougall, Executive Director for
the Coalition for Healthcare eStandards.
The Defense Logistics Agency has been a
pioneer in developing and promoting electronic standards. The
Agency actively participated in the groups that developed ANSI
EDI standards and spearheaded the Universal Product Number
initiative. In concert with its federal and commercial
partners, the Agency has become the Medical Supply Chain
Manager for the Department of Defense. The partnerships forged
by the Agency have resulted in one federal price for most
medical consumables, one federal contracting process for
medical vendors wanting to do business with the federal
government, one seamless medical logistics system for the
Department of Defense and a formal, contractual integration of
the Department of Defense and commercial supply chains that
enable the military services, in times of crisis, to rapidly
access stocks owned and managed by commercial vendors. The
Defense Logistics Agency understands that e-commerce standards
will be a key enabler in the Agency’s mission to deliver
the right product, to the right place, at the right time, at
the right price, every time.
The Coalition recently endorsed the United
Nations Standard Products and Services Code (UNSPSC), has made
improvement of Health Identifier Numbers (HIN), and supports
the use of Universal Product Numbers (UPN).
About the Coalition for Healthcare
eStandards, Inc.
The Coalition for Healthcare standards,
Inc. is a group of leading healthcare purchasers, suppliers and
distributors advocating for the adoption of uniform industry
standards for supply chain transactions over the Internet.
Formed in June 2000, members of the Coalition include AmeriNet,
Consorta, Global Healthcare Exchange, MedCenterDirect, Medibuy,
Neoforma, Novation and Premier. This group represents nearly 80
percent of the healthcare providers in the United States. Visit
www.CHeStandards.org for more information about the Coalition.
About the Defense Supply Center
Philadelphia
DSCP annually provides approximately $6.2
billion worth of food, clothing, textiles, medicines, medical
equipment and general and industrial supplies for
America’s military worldwide and other customers.
Contact for more information:
Sue Dressel
Coalition for Healthcare eStandards
734.677.3300
Dena Selkow
Defense Supply Center Philadelphia
215.737.2274
