Supply of Products for Healthcare (SUPPLY)
0.3.0 - ci-build
Supply of Products for Healthcare (SUPPLY), published by IHE Pharmacy Technical Committee. This guide is not an authorized publication; it is the continuous build for version 0.3.0 built by the FHIR (HL7® FHIR® Standard) CI Build. This version is based on the current content of https://github.com/IHE/pharm-supply/ and changes regularly. See the Directory of published versions
For triggering the supply associated (or not) with a prescription, there may be a dispense request. This is not the original prescription - it can differ in terms of quantity, contain additional details, or handle requesting products from different locations. The Dispense Request is therefore a transaction that focuses exclusively on the logistic supply of products for a patient, and may be triggered from a clinical prescription but is not a clinical prescription. This mechanism of Dispense Request is not detailed here separately. Technically, it is very similar to the Supply Request and can be an instance of that.
The Supply request handles a request to the party that will process, authorize and otherwise handle the request. This may be or not the supplier: In some cases the request may be to an authorizing party, or another management system, which plays no part in the actual delivery.
The resupply request typically may contain information about:
Data element | Description |
---|---|
Request ID | identification of the request |
Status | status of the request |
Request Type | Type of request (for distribution purposes) |
DateTime | date/time of the request |
Requester ID | identification of the requester |
Original request | when a request is a response to other requests, e.g. compilation of different requests to buy in bigger quantities |
Intended Request Filler ID | identification of the intended request filler, i.e. who the request is addressed to |
Requested item(s) | the actual items being requested |
Item Identification | the identifier(s) of the requested item |
Quantity | Amount of items |
Item Info | Characteristics of the requested product – for example requesting a specific lot. |
Origin location | Location or source of the item |
Destination | the destination of the items to be supplied |
Notes | Comments and additional info – e.g., billing modes, etc. |
Also see the data model overview below
The Supply Request is used to inform a party about the request of items and the status of such request and its handling. This can be in response to a request, or as an immediate response to the order, or unsolicited.
The data that is normally present is the same as the supply request.
The shipment notice informs other parties that the actual shipment is initiated. This typically means that the items are now in transport.
This data is normally used:
Data element | Description |
---|---|
Shipment ID | shipment identification |
Status | status of the shipment |
DateTime | date/time of the shipment |
Request | the request that this shipment is responding to |
Supplier ID | identification of the requester |
Supplier Location | location of the requester |
Receiver Location | the intended receiver of the shipment |
Receiver ID | the intended location for the shipment |
Sent items | the actual items being shipped |
Item Identification | the identifier(s) of the requested item |
Item Characteristics | Any descriptive or traceability information as needed – for example size, or lot number. |
Quantity | Amount of items |
Item status | information of the status - arrived, missing, defective.. |
Notes | Other data needed about distribution – e.g., billing info, etc. |
The delivery or receipt notice is used to inform the parties about the reception of items. This can be used to confer quantities, inform of delivery issues, and is commonly used to activate the billing, since the reception of items signals that the items are now in the custody of the receiver, so if all is ok, the order can be billed when it is finally received at its destination.
The following data is commonly present in the delivery notice:
Data element | Description |
---|---|
Receipt ID | identification of the receipt |
Status | status of the receipt notive |
DateTime | date/time of the receipt |
Shipment ID | identification of the shipment |
Request | the request that this receipt is related to |
Supplier ID | the supplier of the items |
Supplier Location | location of the requester |
Receiver ID | the receiver of the items |
Receiver Location | the intended receiver of the shipment |
Received items | the actual items received |
Item Identification | the identifier(s) of the requested item |
Item Characteristics | Any descriptive or traceability information as needed – for example size, or lot number. |
Quantity | Amount of items |
Item status | information of the status - arrived, missing, defective.. |
Notes | Other data needed about distribution – e.g., billing info, etc. |
The inventory status report updates the parties about the status of inventory - quantities available etc. This can be divided in different dimensions: Snapshot vs Differential - the former is an information about the current product count in a position, while the latter informs about differences to a previous count (e.g. additions, subtractions).
The data involved is usually this:
Data element | Description |
---|---|
Request ID | identification of the inventory request |
DateTime | date/time of the request |
Inventory entries | the entries or positions for which the inventory is being requested |
Location | the inventory location |
Items | the items for which inventory is being requested |
Attributes | Attributes of the items (code, lot, etc.) |
Item Info | Any traceability information if needed – for example a specific lot. |
Item status | information of the status - arrived, missing, defective.. |
Notes | Other data needed about distribution – e.g., billing info, etc. |
One of the key aspects of the materials handling is that sometimes products are consumed but not used or reported clinically. For example items that are dropped or damaged, and/or need to be wasted - will not be reported in the clinical information exchange, but are important to be notified for proper inventory control. This consumption report can contain information such as:
It is normal to request inventory counts. The response can be immediate, if the inventory manager has that information, or it can actually trigger a request for a physical recount of the inventory.
The data needs for the different transactions are represented in the following diagram.
The Supply Request provides the data necessary to initiate an order. The status of a Supply Request may be inquired and the result is represented by a Supply Request Status which represents the updates of a SupplyRequest and is therefore a specialization fo the Supply Request data needs.
The fulfillment of a Supply Request may result in a shipment, which is represented as a Shipment Notice which references the request that originated it. The Receipt Notice can be used to track what is actually received at the destination or in transit. The data it contains is quite similar to a shipment notice and in fact the Receipt Notice can be seen as a specialization of the Shipment Notice.
For Inventory, the Inventory Status provides the partial or complete inventory in a position, and can be used to represent absolute status, or differential status to a revious report, for example to inform that some units have been deducted from stock since last count.
This latter possibility is the same as an Inventory Consumption report, which is thus a specialization of the Inventory Status.
The delivery authorization request is used for a party to request the issuance of a delivery authorization. This is mostly necessary in the case of returns, where the initiator (the consumer) requests the delivery authorization from the supplier, so that the supplier authorizes the return of the products. This is equivalent to a Return Material Authorization form - not the authorization itself, but the form to request it. The following data is considered most relevant in the delivery authorization request:
The delivery authorization informs parties that a given delivery is authorized (typically a return). This is commonly referred to as a Return Material Authorization. It normally contains the following information: