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Newsmaker Interview: Jim Webb

By Healthcare Finance Staff



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Jim Webb

Senior Vice President of Operations

Provista

Irving, Texas

 

How are the economy and the new healthcare regulations affecting GPOs?

Candidly, it puts more pressure on GPOs to deliver greater value for their clients. There is an uncertainty in healthcare. No one knows exactly what is going to happen. Healthcare providers are going to be asked to do more with less. Providers are going to have to look for ways to continue to drive cost out of their system, and I think GPOs are an excellent way to accomplish that.

For example, if you look at legislation that has come out where CMS payments to skilled nursing facilities are being reduced by 11.5 percent, SNFs are going to be looking for additional savings quickly. It’s forcing people to take a closer look at the supply chain.

What advantages/benefits can a hospital or healthcare system expect to gain from their GPO?
GPOs offer tremendous value across the care continuum. GPOs span the breadth of the continuum and can help with every facet. Skilled nursing facilities, physicians offices, home healthcare, everyone has to reduce cost. I don’t know anyone who doesn’t want to do that.

You can look to your GPO to spend time focusing on big ticket, high-dollar initiatives and try to reduce overall cost on the inventory you keep. You can look at a GPO to handle your overall supply price – they will work with distributors to get you value there and there are analytics wrapped around the services. They can help with capital equipment and pharmacy.

Typically, a GPO can cover 80 percent of what you spend so you can focus on the other 20 percent, and that is where you are going to derive the greatest value.

Can you quantify how much an organization can save by participating in a GPO?
If you’ve seen one GPO, you’ve only seen one GPO. GPOs are unique in the way that they supply services. And every organization has something unique that they need. But, I think if you don’t see savings in acute settings in the 5-7 percent range and in the 15-20 percent in a non-acute setting, then you need to look at the GPO you are using. If you are not happy with the level of the savings you are getting, then you should look for another GPO partner.

What challenges are on the horizon?
I don’t think there are major roadblocks. However, providers are going to look to their GPOs and say, “I appreciate what you’ve done for me, but I need you to do more.” And GPOs are going to have to rise to the challenge.

What trends do you expect for GPOs?
I am not sure if it’s a trend, but I believe that GPOs will have to expand the offerings that they provide to clients. They will be helping them order products more effectively. The days of GPOs just providing a pricing portfolio are gone – that isn’t going to cut it anymore.

How can an organization get more from their GPO?
One of the things that is most important is the level of engagement with your GPO. If you look at your GPO just from a transactional standpoint and you are buying from them when it’s to your advantage, you do get some value there. But when you begin to integrate and consolidate with a single GPO and begin to use their analytics and other tools, you’ll get an additional 6-8 percent savings. If you go further to strategic alignment and sit down with them to do your budget and really work with them, you’ll get another few points of savings. Spending time, investing your time in the relationship will help you get the most savings.