UNSPSC for Healthcare: Medical Product Categorization and Insights
What Is UNSPSC?
The United Nations Standard Products and Services Code (UNSPSC) is a global taxonomy used to classify products and services. In the healthcare industry, it's a foundational framework for standardizing supply chain data, enabling accurate spend analysis, product categorization, and procurement efficiency.
Why UNSPSC Accuracy Matters in Healthcare
Hospitals, health systems, and payers rely on UNSPSC codes to:
Identify redundant or off-contract purchases
Standardize product naming across systems
Report spend by category (e.g., surgical implants, diagnostics, PPE)
Drive value analysis and formulary compliance
But poor-quality or missing UNSPSC codes are common, leading to:
Inaccurate analytics
Misclassified purchases
Manual data clean-up work
How Symmetric Health Solutions Helps
At Symmetric Health Solutions, we specialize in:
Enriching product data with validated and specific UNSPSC codes
Auditing and correcting misclassified items
Mapping legacy data to current UNSPSC versions
Ensuring alignment with GPO, manufacturer, and supplier catalogs
We process millions of healthcare product records, covering clinical, surgical, diagnostic, and durable medical equipment (DME) categories.
Examples of Healthcare Product Categorization
Medtronic E7507 | REM Polyhesive Adult Patient Return Electrode | Symmetric Item ID: S0000010381240 | Primary UDI-DI: 10884524000077Correct UNSPSC v26 Code: 42295143 Electrosurgical or electrocautery accessories or attachments, bipolar sealers
Solventum 1538-1 | 3M™ Durapore™ Surgical Tape 1538-1, 1 inch x 10 yard | Symmetric Item ID: S0000009623334 | Primary UDI-DI: 04064035093297Correct UNSPSC v26 Code: 42311552 Medical and surgical adherent tapes for general use
BD 372053 | BD E-Z Scrub™ 205 Surgical Scrub Brush/Sponge with Nail Cleaner, Brown | Symmetric Item ID: S0000010248042 | Primary DI: 00382903720538Correct UNSPSC v26 Code: 42295408 Surgical scrub brushes
Want to see how your product data stacks up? Talk to our team →
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)
What is UNSPSC used for in healthcare?
UNSPSC is used to categorize medical products and services for purchasing, accounting accuracy, reporting, and analysis purposes.
What version of UNSPSC does Symmetric support?
We maintain mappings across all UNSPSC versions and keep up-to-date with the latest revisions.
Can you map UNSPSC codes to my ERP’s items or GPO contract lines?
Yes — we integrate with leading ERPs, GPO contracts, and data warehouses to ensure your UNSPSC classifications are aligned.
Get Accurate, Actionable UNSPSC Data
Need help classifying your product catalog or cleansing your purchasing data?