The leveraged buy is out.

While purchasing giants Premier and VHA jockey for market share, signs show they're looking for competition in all the wrong places. Some of their own members, having merged into powerful regional systems, say they've built up the buying muscle capable of getting better deals from suppliers.

A hospital pioneers reform of its state's procurement code.

In today's changing healthcare marketplace, hospitals across the US are rapidly moving toward developing integrated healthcare delivery networks. In addition, the emergence of managed care and the growing trend toward capitation have compelled hospitals to reduce costs in response to these changes. Moreover, this impetus to provide quality care at reduced cost has affected the purchasing behavior of many hospitals, forcing material managers to pursue innovative procurement methods. This article describes how the Medical University of South Carolina (MUSC) Medical Center, (Charleston, SC) obtained significant savings in purchasing as a result of pioneering legislative reforms in the procurement process.

GPO survival strategies.

Over the last two decades we have witnessed the genesis of a rapidly consolidating market with nearly all healthcare providers now participating in a handful of purchasing organizations either alliance-based or major national GPOs. For a traditional GPO to survive, even thrive in today's rapidly consolidating customer environment, it needs to focus on five essential issues: negotiating agreements, electronically-formatted contract information, sales force and support staff, value-added programs, and equity ownership. This articles discusses these five issues giving suggestions for their implementation.

A partnership to affect real cost reduction: a guaranteed savings of $20 million.

In 1994 Brigham and Women's Hospital and Massachusetts General Hospital joined forces to form Partners HealthCare System, Inc. (Boston, MA), an integrated healthcare delivery system. Both teaching affiliates of Harvard Medical School, the two hospitals comprise approximately 1,750 beds with 80,000 inpatient admissions and 1.3 million outpatient visits annually. The two campuses have over 16,000 employees in facilities covering 6.5 million square feet. The key goals of their partnership were to reduce cost and improve quality. Partners HealthCare System (PHS) set a goal to save $240 million in the first three years. These savings were to be achieved through consolidating departments and programs, adopting best practices between institutions, and wise purchasing. This article looks at the supplier partnering process followed by PHS to affect a guaranteed savings of $20 million.

Equipment selection in a DRG environment.

New equipment will continue to be purchased by the healthcare field. It is imperative that those who are considering equipment purchases keep in mind the various factors affecting our healthcare system today. With the increased cost of equipment and the increased risk that this equipment will not be financially successful, it is imperative that those purchasing the equipment be aware that successful adoption of equipment under the PPS will require that special consideration be given to the following: technologies, ability to enhance an integrated healthcare service, and its potential to serve as a cornerstone for a health service program.