Quebec Hospitals To Save Millions Using E-Commerce
Initiative estimated to reduce procurement expenses by 50%
Montreal, Quebec (PRWEB) March 10, 2005 -- March 9, 2005 -MediChain, a major online procurement solution for the healthcare industry has been successfully launched with the McGill University Health Center (MUHC), a network of 5 teaching hospitals including The Montreal Childrens Hospital, The Montreal General Hospital, The Royal Victoria Hospital, The Montreal Neurological Hospital and The Montreal Chest Institute and Source Medical, one of Canadas largest medical suppliers. The MediChain E-Procurement Platform has been developed and is operated by iCongo, a Montreal based company.
Many hospitals and healthcare institutions will soon be going live with the MediChain platform including: La corporation dapprovisionnement santé services sociaux de lEstrie (La C.A.S.S.S.E.) for 10 of its hospitals, the centre hospitalier universitaire de Sherbrooke (CHUS) hospital network which includes, lhôtel-dieu de Sherbrooke, lhôpital Saint-Vincent-de-Paul and Sherbrooke hospital and the centre hospitalier universitaire de Québec (CHUQ) hospital network which includes LHôtel-Dieu de Québec, the CHUL and lHôpital Saint-François dAssise.
VWR International, a leading worldwide distributor of scientific equipment, supplies, chemicals and furniture has also joined MediChain and will soon be transacting with the establishments on the platform.
The platform is an easy-to-use yet highly sophisticated EDI document exchange and e-procurement platform that will significantly improve the way hospitals purchase from their suppliers. By moving from traditional paper ordering to a paperless electronic process is expected to substantially reduce order-processing cycle times and administrative costs for both healthcare institutions and suppliers.
"We are very happy with the successful MediChain pilot and the speed of its implementation." Said Carole Duhamel, Associate Director, Materials Management for MUHC. "Our hospitals were live with MediChain with minimal effort by our IT staff. We are excited that we will now begin to benefit from the important efficiencies in healthcare procurement made possible by MediChain."
At MUHC, the average cost to process and physically handle a purchase order can range between $50 to $75 per order. By automating the procurement functions using the Internet, the costs of handling and processing a purchase order through all phases of procurement is estimated drop to between $10 and $30 per order.
"The Success of the MediChain Pilot with the MUHC and Source Medical demonstrates the strong technology behind the MediChain Platform", said Charles Auger, President-Elect of AQLASS - Quebecs logistical procurement association). "AQLASS fully supports the MediChain solution and we plan on working with all our members to assist in its adoption process".
This is the first time in Quebec that a group of health care establishments from numerous regions along with the AQLASS association have adopted a common e-commerce solution.
"Interfacing MediChain to our Internet-based EDI platform went smoothly.", said Lynne Morrison, Director, Application Services at Source Medical. "The expertise and professionalism of the iCongo team along with the flexibility of the MediChain technology allowed us a quick and successful implementation. We are now receiving MUHCs orders through MediChain with secure and timely delivery. This will result with important efficiencies for both us and our customer."
"The MediChain platform, built on iCongos comprehensive eprocurement and document exchange systems, is enabling both heathcare institutions and suppliers to take advantage of important order processing efficiencies.", said Irwin Kramer, President of iCongo. "The strong industry support of MediChain demonstrates the importance of the intitiative and will ensure its success. We expect that most of the hospitals in Quebec as well as their suppliers will participate in this inititive."
Currently healthcare organizations buy less than 1% of their equipment and supplies over the Internet. Quebecs hospitals spend more than $2 billion a year, purchasing everything from floor polish to surgical supplies from hundreds of suppliers across North America.
About iCongo
iCongo, Inc. is a leading provider of hosted e-business systems, solutions and services for a wide range of both business and consumer applications. iCongos core technology is the ICE³ (iCongo Collaborative Exchange) collaborative supply chain enablement platform that allows companies and organizations to collaborate with one another and transact business online with their trading partners.
About MUHC
Located in Montreal, the McGill University Hospital Center is a merger of five teaching hospitals affiliated with McGill University-The Montreal Childrens Hospital, The Montreal General Hospital, The Royal Victoria Hospital, and The Montreal Neurological Hospital, as well as The Montreal Chest Institute.
About AQLASS
AQLASS is Quebecs logistical procurement association for 75 of the provinces hospitals and their suppliers. Its mission is to create a central resource for information, best practices and training for managers in the procurement field. Founded 30 years ago, AQLASS is a non-profit association.
About Source Medical
With software products installed in 3,200 facilities nationwide, Source Medical is the leading provider of information solutions for rehabilitation therapy clinics, ambulatory surgery centers, surgical hospitals, physician practices, and radiology facilities. Source Medical was recently ranked, for the third year in a row, among the top healthcare information technology companies in the nation by Healthcare Informatics magazine.
For more information on iCongo and MediChain, please contact:
Steven Kramer
iCongo, Inc.
514.866.2664 ext. 203
skramer@icongo.com
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