Connected or Lost: Why Business Networks Are the Backbone of Modern Healthcare
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Jason de Pol, Key Account Manager
Monday, 16 March 2026
Jason de Pol, Key Account Manager
Once connected, always connected, wherever you are: business networks offer numerous benefits to those involved. Whilst they were originally developed to facilitate the electronic exchange of data, business networks now play a different role. What are the fundamental challenges? How can platforms help overcome these hurdles? And why are business networks – particularly in the healthcare industry – not just a ‘nice to have’, but essential nowadays for tackling ever-increasing complexity?
I had a good laugh recently during a meeting with one of our supplier customers. “We’re all brilliant musicians who have mastered our instruments to perfection. But ultimately, we’re not creating a harmonious piece of music, but a nerve-wracking cacophony,” complained my conversation partner, who was talking not about his hobby, but about his job in the healthcare industry. For just as in an orchestra where nobody plays from sheet music and, what’s more, plays at their own pace, so it is in our industry: everyone plays along to their own tune, but there is no common beat for the players to follow.
What my customer said may sound amusing, but it describes very well a serious problem facing the healthcare industry: The players – from healthcare providers to manufacturers and suppliers, right through to the authorities – use different systems and formats to conduct their day-to-day business. As a result, trying to place orders or send invoices quickly becomes a challenge. Or, indeed, a miserable concert that can never turn out well, as the players are simply unable to strike a common note.
Before I turn to the – increasingly complex – challenges facing the healthcare industry, here’s some good news: anyone who wishes to can continue to play their own notes at their own pace, whilst still creating a beautiful melody with their business partners. That is precisely why business networks have been created in recent years. They not only connect business partners with one another but also break down the tangle of different systems and formats, giving stakeholders a common foundation on which to conduct their business. Or, to stick with the orchestra analogy, to play a concert that sounds harmonious.
Let’s put the music aside for a moment and turn our attention to the business networks mentioned earlier, whose role has changed rapidly in recent years. Whilst they were originally developed to enable electronic data exchange, the requirements are now far more complex – thanks to the legislator. With the introduction of electronic invoicing and the Medical Device Regulation (MDR), two regulatory avalanches are bearing down on the healthcare industry, presenting the already busy stakeholders with yet another challenge: real-time compliance.
Die Compliance with laws or regulations was once seen as a periodic issue; nowadays, organisations and businesses must adapt dynamically. The best example is the introduction of e-invoicing, whereby legislators not only present issuers and recipients with the challenge of generating and processing structured data sets but also require that reports to the authorities take place in real time.
Compliance thus becomes an integral part of a transaction – and consequently a Herculean task for healthcare providers and suppliers. They are effectively being forced by the legislator to switch to business networks. Whilst the human factor is a source of error, digital platforms can ensure that invoice data is converted into the correct format, that information is checked and validated, and that country-specific regulations are complied with.
Speaking of regulations: Under the Medical Device Regulation and the associated Unique Device Identification (UDI) requirements, manufacturers wishing to market their medical devices in Europe will in future be required to assign a unique identifier to these products. The UDI number, as a unique identifier, is intended, on the one hand, to prevent the distribution of unlicensed products; on the other hand, it aims to enable the easy traceability of medical devices.
As noble and necessary as this measure is, it makes processes complex for those involved in the clinical supply chain – at least for providers and suppliers that do not rely on a business network. By using platforms that correctly process and transmit UDI identifiers, the relevant information is structured and can be seamlessly transferred to hospital information systems when incorporated into orders and invoices.
Are you wondering what e-invoicing, UDI and compliance have to do with business networks? If we stick with the orchestra analogy mentioned at the start, the business network acts as the conductor. It ensures that the information provided is converted into the correct format for the recipient, so that everyone plays at the same time – always and everywhere. Although the participants use different systems and formats across national borders, they can collaborate without deviating from their usual systems or established standards. Many instruments, many notes, which ultimately flow together into a single piece.
Incidentally, in the event of incorrect or missing information, the masterful conductor can also become the concert hall’s strict doorman, who does not transmit documents but rejects them at the very threshold of the business network. If, for example, an e-invoice is missing the necessary routing ID, the document is returned to the issuer with a request for verification. Such validation mechanisms ensure that the platform receives at least the information the conductor needs to create a harmonious collaborative work.
The right business network is therefore much more than just a data transmitter. It connects systems, business partners and tax authorities into an interoperable ecosystem that eliminates fragmentation and minimises complexity. When it comes to regulatory changes affecting file exchange formats, it is not providers or suppliers who are called upon, but platform operators, who must design their business networks in such a way that they can respond quickly and easily to changes and make the necessary adjustments to ensure efficiency and compliance.
| Overview of the benefits of business networks |
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Ultimately, the business network is an infrastructure that adapts to regulatory and technical changes without requiring any effort on your part. Connect once, stay connected always and everywhere – that is the very least you should expect from a digital platform. An open business network helps you reduce your process costs, comply with legal requirements and focus on your core business: ensuring patient care.
Developments in recent years have shown that complexity in the healthcare industry is not decreasing – quite the contrary. With the introduction of electronic invoicing in Europe and the consequences of the Medical Device Regulation, the industry has reached a point where joining a business network is no longer a ‘nice to have’ but has become essential to cope with ever-increasing complexity.
Formats, standards, regulations – anyone wishing to avoid friction with their business partners and instead promote harmony in the healthcare industry would be well advised to join a business network. A business network that meets the requirements for e-invoicing, shoulders the burden of UDI documentation, and ensures that data is not only transmitted but can be received and processed in real time at every stage of the supply chain.
Jason de Pol, Key Account Manager at GHX Europe, is a demonstrated expert in the strategic development of healthcare provider and suppliers out of the GHX network. As a champion of the GS1 and Scan4Safety programme, he has helped deliver the processes and systems which improve both patient safety and drive business efficiencies.