The Power of Network

Semi-automated bill-only solutions perpetuate the problem they claim to fix. The only real solution requires both sides of the transaction to be aligned before the order is placed. Watch how Helia's platform achieves this — and what it means for health systems, suppliers, and distributors across the country.

The bill-only problem

About 50% of a hospital’s supply chain expenditures are paid after the product has been used. Sales reps walk devices into operating rooms for joint replacements, pacemakers, and other implant procedures. The hospital pays afterward.

The reason the transaction fails is misalignment. There is no alignment between supplier and hospital about price, terms, and product at the moment the device is delivered. There is usually a contract. But that contract is not validated at the point of use.

Two ways to handle the problem

There are two approaches to the bill-only misalignment problem.

The first: let the misalignment happen and deal with reconciling every step of the transaction process, involving multiple encounters between departments at both the hospital and the supplier. This process can be semi-automated, but the errors keep coming because the root cause is never addressed.

The second: stop the problem from ever happening by creating pre-transaction alignment between buyer and seller, between the hospital and the supplier, before the order is placed.

This is the difference between treating the symptoms and treating the problem. Semi-automated bill-only solutions perpetuate the root cause rather than preventing it.

How Helia works

Helia validates contracts and pricing against both the health system’s system and the supplier’s simultaneously before the PO is ever created. When both sides agree before the order is placed, the transaction is clean from the start.

For health systems: off-contract items caught before a dollar leaks. For suppliers: invoice generated the same day the order is approved. For reps: order placed in under two minutes, completion notification received, move on.

When Helia is integrated into the hospital’s ERP system, the bill-only transaction becomes a one-click workflow from case close through invoice. So healthcare can focus on what matters most,  the patient.

The network

500+ suppliers and distributors are already transacting on Helia, with 10,000+ contracts aligned. For health systems, that means the majority of their supplier base can be live on day one, no ramp period. As the network grows, the value compounds.