Digitalisation in the healthcare sector is not a vision of the future - it is already a reality today. An outstanding example of this is the collaboration between firstbase healthcare and Sumex AG, which reached a decisive milestone in the management and identification of medical devices in the Swiss healthcare system in March 2024.
Medical devices, which are defined as instruments, apparatus, devices, software or implants under the Therapeutic Products Act (TPA), play a central role in the healthcare system. They are used by service providers such as doctors and hospitals for outpatient procedures and are labelled separately before they are invoiced. However, to ensure that these products can be clearly identified - both by service providers and insurance companies - they must be labelled with a GTIN (Global Trade Item Number). This is the only way to ensure error-free billing and efficient management of product data.
In practice, the manual exchange and identification of product master data, in particular the registration of GTINs, was a time-consuming and error-prone process. This is where firstbase healthcare came in with the solution to automate and simplify this process.
firstbase healthcare revolutionises the exchange of product master data
firstbase healthcare is an independent data exchange platform that enables the automated and standardised exchange of product master data in the Swiss healthcare system. By integrating GTIN registrations for medical devices, firstbase healthcare ensures that all product data is always up-to-date and correct - a basis for the efficient administration and billing of medical devices.
Since March 2024, Sumex AG, a leading company in the field of insurance and billing services in the healthcare sector, has successfully integrated over 150,000 GTIN-registered medical devices into its reference database. This makes everyday work much easier for its customers - health insurance companies and service providers.
Sumex AG with automated invoice verification and improved product identification
Thanks to the integration of firstbase healthcare, all GTIN-registered products can now be quickly and clearly identified. For Sumex AG's customers, this means a significant increase in the automation of invoice verification. Manual checking and error corrections are a thing of the past, resulting in a significant reduction in the error rate and faster processing.
In addition, the identification of medical devices is considerably simplified by the clear assignment of GTINs. This not only makes the work of insurance companies easier, but also ensures that the products billed always comply with the correct standards and specifications.
The path to an efficient future
The success story of firstbase healthcare and Sumex AG shows how digital networking and automation in the healthcare sector can lead to a significant increase in efficiency. By successfully registering and exchanging over 150,000 medical devices, firstbase healthcare has not only made a decisive contribution to the digitalisation of the industry, but has also enabled an important step towards greater transparency and efficiency in the healthcare sector.
For Sumex AG, the collaboration with firstbase healthcare represents a long-term strategic partnership that will enable them not only to offer their customers a better service, but also to significantly increase the quality and accuracy of their billing processes.
The journey is not over yet - with the continuous integration of new products and the further development of the platform, the path to sustainable, digitalised healthcare will continue to be driven forward. firstbase healthcare is thus setting new standards for the efficient exchange and management of medical products in the Swiss healthcare system.
At a time when digitalisation and automation are becoming increasingly important, this success story shows how innovative solutions such as firstbase healthcare not only simplify the day-to-day work of insurance companies and service providers, but can also make a significant contribution to improving healthcare as a whole.