Medical devices and supplies
Medical Device and Supply EDI and API Integration
Orders, device identifiers and contract pricing that match across the medical supply chain
Medical products reach hospitals and clinics through distributors, group purchasing contracts and direct shipments, and many products carry a device or product identifier, a lot or serial number and sometimes an expiry date, depending on the product and the buyer's requirements. ECOM connects orders, ship notices, contract pricing, chargebacks and sales tracings between manufacturers, distributors and providers and the systems behind them.
At a glance
Key documents
- 850 Purchase Orders
- 855 Order Acknowledgments
- 856 Ship Notices (ASN)
- 810 Invoices
- 845 Price Authorizations
- 844 Chargeback and Claim Requests
- 849 Claim Responses
- 867 Usage and Resale Reports
Systems we integrate
- ERP
- Warehouse
- Contract management
- Provider materials management
PRISM products
- PRISM-EDI
- PRISM-SmartConvert
- PRISM Reconcile360
- PRISM-SCV
- Who we help
- Medical device and supply manufacturers, medical-surgical, dental and laboratory distributors, and the health systems and providers that buy from them.
- What we connect
- Orders, ship notices with product identifiers, contract pricing, chargebacks and sales tracings between your ERP and each distributor, provider and carrier.
- Problems we solve
- Contract prices that must be honored and claimed back, product identifiers that must be traceable, and chargebacks that take long to settle.
- Even without EDI
- Distributors and providers also use portals, punch-out catalogs, spreadsheets, PDFs and APIs. ECOM works with those routes as well as EDI.
What is medical supply chain EDI?
Medical supply chain EDI is the exchange of orders, acknowledgments, ship notices, invoices, contract pricing and sales data for medical devices and supplies between manufacturers, distributors and healthcare providers. It uses ANSI X12 documents such as the 850, 855, 856 and 810, and contract documents such as the 845 price authorization, 844 and 849 chargebacks and 867 tracings. It is distinct from the administrative transactions, such as claims and eligibility, that providers exchange with payers.
Who you connect with
Who a medical supply business exchanges data with
Products reach providers through distributors and direct shipments, under contract pricing that flows back through chargebacks.
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Manufacturers
Orders, contract prices, chargebacks
EDI, files, portals -
Distributors
Orders, tracings, ship notices
EDI and APIs -
Group purchasing organizations
Contract and membership data
Files and portals -
Hospitals and clinics
Purchase orders, receipts, invoices
EDI, punch-out, portals -
Carriers and 3PLs
Shipments and returns
EDI and APIs
Product types
Devices, consumables, dental and laboratory supplies have different data needs
Identifier requirements depend on the product and the buyer. Where a page below mentions identifiers, it means the data the buyer or regulation requires for that product.
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Medical devices
Manufacturers of devices that carry unique device identifiers.
- How it runs
- Orders and ship notices carry the identifier data buyers need to trace a device. Contract pricing and chargebacks follow the distributor agreement.
- Documents
- Systems
- ERP, device master data, distributor systems.
- Typical problem
- Device identifiers and lot or serial data must match between your records and the buyer's.
Source note. FDA's unique device identification (UDI) system and its GUDID database apply to many devices; requirements differ by device class.
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Medical-surgical consumables
Manufacturers and distributors of gloves, dressings, syringes and similar supplies.
- How it runs
- High-volume orders, replenishment and ship notices move through distributors. Prices follow contracts and tracings report sales by account.
- Documents
- Systems
- ERP, distributor and provider systems.
- Typical problem
- Contract price tiers and unit-of-measure conversions cause pricing disputes.
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Dental supplies
Manufacturers and distributors serving dental practices and groups.
- How it runs
- Practice orders and catalog updates move between distributors and manufacturers; ship notices and invoices follow.
- Systems
- ERP, distributor e-commerce platforms.
- Typical problem
- Product catalogs change often and must stay in step with distributor listings.
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Laboratory supplies
Suppliers and distributors of laboratory consumables and equipment.
- How it runs
- Orders and punch-out catalogs from laboratories and institutions, ship notices with lot data, and invoices.
- Systems
- ERP, institutional procurement systems.
- Typical problem
- Institutional buyers use their own procurement systems with their own requirements.
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Contract pricing, chargebacks and tracings
Manufacturers honoring contract prices through distributors.
- How it runs
- Distributors report resales to contract customers. Manufacturers verify and issue chargebacks, and claims are answered.
- Documents
- Systems
- Distributor ERP, manufacturer contract management.
- Typical problem
- Claims are rejected for mismatched contract references and settle slowly.
How to read this page: a standard or system named here shows where a requirement is published or what ECOM can connect. It does not mean ECOM has a verified partnership with any named company, and your own contracts and partners define the final requirements.
Who it's for
Different roles, different workflows
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Device and supply manufacturers
You sell through distributors and directly to health systems, maintain contract prices for group purchasing agreements and settle distributor chargebacks against those contracts.
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Medical-surgical distributors
You buy from manufacturers, deliver to hospitals, clinics and physician offices, and claim the difference between your cost and the contract price at which you sold.
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Health systems and providers
Your materials management or ERP system orders from distributors and manufacturers and needs ship notices and invoices that match the receipt, down to lot and expiry.
How the workflow runs
From contract price to delivered device and settled chargeback
In distribution the price the hospital pays and the price the distributor paid differ. Contract and chargeback documents settle the difference after each sale.
- Manufacturer→Distributor 845 Contract price authorization Eligible customers and contract prices.
- Health system→Distributor 850 Purchase order Items for a facility or department.
- Distributor→Health system 856 Ship notice Device identifiers with lot or serial and expiry.
- Distributor→Health system 810 Invoice At the provider's contract price.
- Distributor→Manufacturer 844 Chargeback claim Difference between cost and contract price.
- Manufacturer→Distributor 849 Chargeback response Approved, adjusted or rejected lines.
- Distributor→Manufacturer 867 Sales tracing Which customer bought what, and when.
- 01
Publish contract pricing
Price authorizations tell distributors which customers are eligible for which contract prices, and when they start and end.
- 02
Order and acknowledge
Providers order from distributors or manufacturers, and acknowledgments confirm availability, substitutions and backorders.
- 03
Ship with device data
Ship notices carry product identifiers with lot or serial numbers and expiry dates, so receiving and recalls work from the same data.
- 04
Invoice and settle
Invoices reflect the contract price; distributors claim chargebacks and manufacturers validate them against contracts and tracings.
- 05
Report sales
Sales tracings give manufacturers visibility of end-customer demand for rebates, territory reporting and planning.
Beyond EDI
Every way medical supply orders and data arrive, tied to the item
Orders, contract changes and tracings arrive in different forms. ECOM maps each to the same item and contract record.
How it arrives
- EDI850 orders, 856 notices, 844 and 849 claims
- PortalDistributor and provider portals
- APICatalog and order services
- SpreadsheetPrice lists and tracing reports
- Flat fileContract and member files
- PDF or emailOrders and certificates
ECOM
- Validate every file or message
- Map to each partner's rules
- Deliver, acknowledge and monitor
Where it goes
- ERP order to cash
- Contract system
- Recall readiness
- Sales reporting
Challenges
Integration challenges in medical devices and supplies
Chargebacks that do not reconcile
Claims rejected for an expired contract, an ineligible customer or a wrong price tie up revenue for both sides.
Device data on every shipment
Lot, serial and expiry data must match the labels so providers can receive, track and recall products.
Many contracts, constant change
Group purchasing and local agreements change prices and eligibility throughout the year.
Mixed provider capabilities
Large health systems exchange EDI while clinics and physician offices may still order by portal, email or fax.
How we help
How ECOM supports medical devices and supplies companies
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Order to cash integration
Orders, acknowledgments, ship notices and invoices with distributors and providers, connected to your ERP.
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Device identifiers in documents
Product identifiers, lots, serial numbers and expiry dates carried in ship notices from warehouse data.
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Contract and chargeback documents
845 price authorizations, 844 claims, 849 responses and 867 tracings connected to contract and finance systems.
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Document conversion
Orders and invoices received as PDFs or emails converted into structured data.
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Secure connectivity
Connections over AS2, SFTP or a VAN, chosen per partner, with transfers logged.
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Monitoring
Rejected claims, missing ship notices and failed documents visible as exceptions.
PRISM products
Which PRISM products apply
Each partner connects in the way it can support. These products cover the connections and visibility this industry needs most.
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PRISM-EDI
Exchange of orders, ship notices, invoices, contract and chargeback documents with distributors and providers.
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PRISM-SmartConvert
Orders, invoices and contract documents that arrive as PDFs or emails converted into structured data.
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PRISM Reconcile360
Automated cash application and reconciliation of payments and deductions against open invoices.
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PRISM-SCV
Monitoring of transactions and exceptions across distributors and providers.
Systems integration
What medical supply EDI connects to
Supply chain data for medical products touches order, warehouse, contract and finance systems.
From
- Contracts
- Provider orders
- Lots and serials
- Distributor sales
ECOM · Medical supply EDI
- Validate contracts
- Carry UDI and lots
- Match chargebacks
To
- ERP order to cash
- Contract system
- Recall readiness
- Sales reporting
| System | What flows | What to plan for |
|---|---|---|
| ERP | Orders, invoices, credits and payments. | Customer and facility identifiers must match contract eligibility. |
| Warehouse | Lots, serial numbers and expiry dates of shipped units. | Ship notices should come from scanned warehouse data, not order data. |
| Contract management | Price authorizations, chargebacks and tracings. | Contract start and end dates decide whether claims are valid. |
| Provider materials management | Purchase orders, receipts and invoice matching. | Providers often match invoices to receipts by item and lot. |
Device identification
UDI data in supply chain documents
Under FDA's Unique Device Identification system, device labelers put a UDI on device labels and submit device information to FDA's GUDID database.
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Identifiers on documents
The device identifier, usually a GTIN, and production identifiers such as lot, serial and expiry can be carried in ship notices.
Identifiers on documents in detail -
Regulatory responsibility stays with the labeler
Integration moves the data between partners. Labeling and GUDID submission remain the labeler's regulatory obligations.
Trading partners
Guides for medical distributors
Integration guides for the distributors that medical device and supply manufacturers commonly sell through.
All healthcare guides-
Medline
Medical supply manufacturer and distributor; the guide covers the documents commonly exchanged.
Medline in detail -
Owens & Minor
Medical-surgical distributor; the guide covers documents and connection options.
Owens & Minor in detail -
Cardinal Health
Healthcare distributor; the guide covers its supplier EDI documents.
Cardinal Health in detail -
McKesson
Healthcare distributor; the guide covers its supplier EDI documents.
McKesson in detail -
Henry Schein
Dental and medical distributor; the guide covers documents and planning points.
Henry Schein in detail
Implementation
What to plan for in a medical supply EDI project
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Align contract and customer data
Customer identifiers in orders and chargebacks must match the eligibility lists in your contracts.
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Capture lots at the warehouse
Build ship notices from scanned lot, serial and expiry data.
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Define claim validation rules
Agree how claims are checked against contract prices, dates and tracings before automating responses.
Documents and standards
Common transactions
Common X12 documents in medical device and supply chains. Claims and eligibility belong to the administrative exchanges on the healthcare page.
| Code | Document | What it does |
|---|---|---|
| 850 | Purchase Orders | Orders devices and supplies. |
| 855 | Order AcknowledgmentsX12 name: Purchase Order Acknowledgment | Confirms availability. |
| 856 | Ship Notices (ASN)X12 name: Ship Notice/Manifest | Describes shipped units with lot data. |
| 810 | Invoices | Bills at the contract price. |
| 845 | Price AuthorizationsX12 name: Price Authorization Acknowledgment/Status | Shares contract pricing and eligibility. |
| 844 | Chargeback and Claim RequestsX12 name: Product Transfer Account Adjustment | Claims a chargeback. |
| 849 | Claim ResponsesX12 name: Response to Product Transfer Account Adjustment | Answers the chargeback. |
| 867 | Usage and Resale ReportsX12 name: Product Transfer and Resale Report | Reports distributor sales. |
Scenarios
Typical integration scenarios
Manufacturer automating chargebacks
Validate distributor claims against contracts and tracings and answer them electronically.
Distributor connecting providers
Exchange orders, ship notices and invoices with health systems and clinics.
Supplier meeting provider requirements
Send ship notices with lot and expiry data that hospitals can receive against.
Frequently asked questions
How is medical supply EDI different from healthcare claims EDI?
Supply chain EDI moves orders, shipments, invoices and contract data for products. Claims EDI moves enrollment, eligibility, claims and payments between providers and payers. They involve different partners, documents and rules.
Which documents handle chargebacks?
Distributors typically claim chargebacks with the X12 844, manufacturers respond with the 849, and the 867 reports the underlying sales. Contract prices are often shared with the 845.
Can ship notices carry UDI data?
Yes. Ship notices can carry the device identifier and production identifiers such as lot, serial and expiry where each partner's guide includes them.
Does ECOM provide contract management or UDI labeling software?
No. ECOM integrates documents and data with the ERP, warehouse and contract systems you already run.
How to get started
Tell us who you trade with and what you run
- Send the basics. Your trading partners, the documents they require, your ERP or other systems, and any deadline.
- We review the requirements. An ECOM specialist looks at the partner programs, document formats and connections involved.
- You decide how to proceed. We outline the options, including managed services or software, for you to compare.
Helpful to share, but not required
You do not need an implementation guide or a finished requirements list to contact us. If you have these, they speed things up:
- Whether you make devices or consumables, or distribute to hospitals, clinics, dental or laboratory buyers.
- Your distributors or provider customers and their requirements, if you have them; if not, we can help identify them.
- Your ERP, contract pricing and chargeback process today.
- The identifier data (UDI, lot, serial, expiry) that must travel with shipments.
See how ECOM works with customers: case studies ERP integrations compare delivery options (software, managed or team-based)
Reconcile chargebacks and ship with device data
Share a distributor's or provider's EDI guide and the systems your contracts and lots live in. An ECOM specialist will outline the approach.