10:00 – 10:30 AM CT

Mike Schiller

Nancy LeMaster

Forum Introduction

Speakers:
Mike Schiller, Executive Director, AHRMM
Nancy LeMaster, AHRMM LUC Project Manager
 

Preview of the upcoming sessions. LUC update, highlight AHRMM UDI course.

Session 1 | 
10:30 – 11:30 AM CT

Jon Elliott

Abbi Elzinga 

Healthcare Provider Success Stories

Speaker:
Jon Elliott, Director Supply Chain Services, Children’s Mercy Health
Abbi Elzinga , Director, Performance Solutions, HealthTrust  

Moderator:
Nancy LeMaster, AHRMM LUC

Incorporating UDI into your clinical and supply chain operations can seem overwhelmingly complex. It doesn’t have to be. Go beyond the theory and hear from healthcare providers who have broken down the process into manageable bites and achieved process improvements and cost savings. Learn how they gained support from leadership and about their future vision.

Learning Objectives:

1. Participants will be able to identify ways to incorporate implementation and expanded utilization of the UDI within the scope of planned systems upgrades or conversions.
2. Participants will be able to develop strategies for gaining leadership support for UDI implementation and expanded utilization.
3. Participants will be able to identify opportunities within their organization where implementation or expanded utilization of the UDI could improve efficiency and reduce costs.

Session 2 | 
11:30 – 12:15 PM CT

Dani Abutaleb

Driving Resiliency through Data Integrity with Symmetric 

Speakers:
Dani Abutaleb, Head of Solutions, Symmetric  

This session explores how health systems can achieve true supply chain resiliency through data mastery, starting with the UDI. Symmetric Health Solutions will demonstrate how unified, cleansed and attributed item data forms the backbone of a resilient health system that connects disparate data sets across purchase orders, item masters, contracts and other systems in real time. Attendees will see how accurate UDI attribution not only supports clinical traceability and compliance, but also unlocks cost avoidance through country of origin visibility, tariff intelligence, substitute identification and automated enrichment. Learn how Symmetric’s best-in-class database delivers transparency, agility and measurable financial impact across 990+ clinical supply ecosystems.

Speaker Bio:

Dani Abutaleb, Head of Solutions at Symmetric, has a background in clinical spaces and prior experience guiding Epic implementations at large academic medical centers, Dani focuses and has a passion in driving clinical and supply chain resiliency, and leveraging UDI in bridging clinical, supply chain, and regulatory visibility.

Session 3 | 
2:00 – 3:00 PM CT

Kate Austin

Rhett Suhre

Matthew Freede

Trading Partner Success Stories 

Speakers:
Kate Austin, Director, System Specialist, Gore
Rhett Suhre, Business Solutions, Gore
Matthew Freede, Director Supply Chain Services, Kaiser  

Moderator:
Nancy LeMaster, AHRMM LUC

The value the UDI provides is exponentially higher when manufacturers and healthcare providers work together to maximize its utilization. Learn how to identify trading partners that are interested and able to work on maximizing UDI utilization. Find out about the benefits both parties achieved and how that could be applied to your organization.

Learning Objectives:

1. Participants will be able to describe various methods for identifying like-minded trading partners with which they could work on UDI utilization.
2. Participants will be able to explain to leadership the benefits of trading partner collaboration on UDI usage.
3. Participants will be able to identify a project and potential trading partner collaboration that would benefit their organization

Session 1 | 
10:00 – 11:00 AM CT

Carl Gomberg

Melissa Amell 

Devin Bobulski 

Susan LaFountain 

Tools and Organizations to Support Implementation and Expanded Use of the UDI

Speakers:
Carl Gomberg, Lead Solution Analyst, Premier 
Melissa Amell, Senior Director Healthcare Strategy, Infor 
Devin Bobulski, EPIC 
Susan LaFountain, GHX   

Moderator:
Nancy LeMaster, AHRMM LUC

You don’t necessarily need expensive consultants to maximize the utilization of the UDI. Learn how to reach out to organizations you have existing relationships with to expand your knowledge and gain support for expanding utilization of the UDI. Current technology vendors, data management companies, GPOs and peer organizations can be great sources of information and support. Hear from a panel representing various organizations on questions to ask and ways to get the most out of your existing technology and relationships.

Learning Objectives:

1. The participant will be able to describe how existing partners can support UDI implementation and expanded utilization.
2. The participant will be able to create questions to determine if they are maximizing the functionality and the expertise of organizations they are currently partnered with.
3. The participant will be able to develop a plan for their organization on ways to tap into no or low cost resources to support their organizations goals.

Session 2 | 
11:00 – 11:45 AM CT

Chris Anderson

When Barcodes Break: UDI Errors and Their Impact on Clinicians, Supply Chain, and Finance

Speaker:
Chris Anderson, Director of Technical Program Management, VueMed

In this session, Chris Anderson will explore common pitfalls in UDI compliance, including missing product data in the GUDID, improperly encoded or hijacked barcodes, and poorly designed packaging that disrupts workflow. Drawing on real-world examples, he will explain how these missteps undermine accurate data capture—and the resulting consequences for clinical teams, billing departments, and supply chain professionals. Chris will emphasize why precise, standardized, and reliable UDI data is so critical to ensuring operational efficiency, regulatory alignment, and patient safety.

Speaker Bio:

Chris Anderson joined VueMed in 2014 and is its Director of Technical Program Management. He is responsible for driving product planning, coordinating the development of new technologies with the software development team, and ensuring timely product delivery. He leads the development of internal operations best practices and implements new strategies to enhance productivity and scalability. Chris is also responsible for leading the development of VueMed's data analytics and visualization offerings. His specialties include database administration, data visualization, project management and content management systems.

Session 3 | 
2:00 – 3:00 PM CT

Guillermo Ramas

Ashlea Souffrou

Rich Kucera

Joan Melendez

The Future of UDI Through the Eyes of Entrepreneurs

Speakers:
Guillermo Ramas, Program Manager, NotiSphere  
Ashlea Souffrou, CEO Founder, SxanPro  
Rich Kucera, CEO and Co-Founder, Symmetric
Joan Melendez, President, Xcelerate UDI 

Moderator:
Nancy LeMaster, AHRMM LUC

For many of us when we think about the current state of the health care supply chain, we see barriers, uncertainty and constraints. Entrepreneurs have a unique way of looking at chaos and seeing opportunities. Hear from 4 people who have created successful businesses that rely in part on the UDI. Learn how they deal with challenges and shortcomings to achieve success. Hear how they view the future of the healthcare supply chain and the role of the UDI.

Learning Objectives:

1. The participant will be able to explain the various ways the UDI can improve clinical and supply chain focus.
2. The participant will be able to create a plan for how the UDI could enable success in their organization.
3. The participant will be able to develop a future supply chain vision that incorporates the UDI for their organization.

Closing Session 
3:00 – 3:30 PM CT

Nancy LeMaster

Beth Wells

Tools to Support Maximizing the Use of UDI

Speakers:
Nancy LeMaster, AHRMM LUC 
Beth Wells, GS1

Learn about the UDI Quick Start Guides created by AHRMM LUC and SMI. These guides are provided free of charge and provide support and guidance for providers and manufacturers on incorporating the UDI into clinical and supply chain operations. Also, see a demonstration of GS1’s interactive tool that illustrates the many ways data standards impact the health care supply chain and how they can improve operations.

Series of Quick Start Guides (6) and Interactive Tool from GS1 will be provided to all attendees with their registration – as well as guidance on usage during this last closing session