Long-term care facilities that purchase through CHIPS Purchasing, a recently established group purchasing organization for small- to mid-sized long-term care chains, now have access to the full portfolio of Premier Purchasing Partners, LP, contracts.
"We use our national buying power to leverage best-price contracts for members, but we don't stop there," said Premier Purchasing Partners President Mike Alkire. "We have learned to harness the power of our regional collaborations, such as the Colonial Regional Alliance, and to partner with organizations such as the CHIPS Network to reduce the cost of healthcare services helping keep them affordable to residents in the communities our members serve."
CHIPS Purchasing, based in Oakland, Md., is a new affiliate of Colonial Regional Alliance (CRA), a group of eight hospitals in Central and Western Maryland, Northern Virginia and the District of Columbia. CHIPS benefits patients by reducing operating expenses through participation in Premier's group purchasing contracts as well as CRA-negotiated regional contracts and shared service initiatives. The new affiliation will help CHIPS Purchasing clients be more cost-effective.
"When you combine the competitiveness of the contracts from one of healthcare's largest GPOs with our IT platform, it gives us a significant edge in working with small to midsize long-term healthcare chains," CHIPS Purchasing President Norm Simpkins said. "Most of the organizations we target do not have sophisticated supply chain technology."
CHIPS Purchasing offers a fully electronic Web-based purchasing service that includes tools for organizing and managing vendors and contracts in a single facility and within a chain. After a chain's corporate office approves a contract, it is included in a facility's personalized and secure Web site where it can be easily accessed for ordering and reporting.
"This new relationship is definitely positive for all involved but most especially for the patients and communities served by CRA and CHIPS members," said CRA Executive Director Steve Carpenter. "Anytime we can work together to provide more cost-effective healthcare services, it is a positive."