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GPOs Share Best Ethical Practices and Progress at Second Annual Healthcare Group Purchasing Initiative Forum

Posted on: Thursday, 18 January 2007, 12:01 CST

Leaders of the nation's top healthcare group purchasing organizations discussed their experiences in implementing self-governing codes of conduct at the Healthcare Group Purchasing Initiative's second annual Best Practices Forum here January 16-17.

The HGPII forum included panel discussions on ethics and compliance, supplier diversity and other issues. Participants included representatives from the major healthcare group purchasing organizations, as well as supply chain and hospital representatives. The opening speaker was Jim Sheehan, Assistant U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania.

The Healthcare Group Purchasing Initiative (HGPII) is a voluntary program that requires group purchasing organization participants to operate in a transparent and ethical manner. HGPII participants must complete an Annual Public Accountability Questionnaire and participate in the Best Practices Forum, where they face peer scrutiny of their efforts to fulfill the commitments they make in their individual codes of conduct. Current participants include Amerinet, Broadlane, Child Health Corporation of America, Consorta, GNYHA Ventures, Healthtrust Purchasing Group, Innovatix, LLC, Managed Health Care Associates, MedAssets, MedBuy Corp., Novation, Premier Inc., and University Health System Consortium. Involvement is at the CEO level and all GPOs are encouraged to join.

"The focus of our organizations is on helping hospitals deliver high quality patient care while holding the line on rising healthcare costs. This initiative provides assurance to the public and other stakeholders that we are fulfilling our mission in an ethical, transparent manner," said Richard A. Norling, president and CEO of Premier Inc., a founding member of HGPII. "HGPII's extensive disclosure requirements go beyond those of any other segment of the healthcare supply chain, including those of device manufacturers, pharmaceutical companies and other suppliers."

Prior to the Best Practices Forum, each of the participating GPOs completed a HGPII questionnaire about its business practices. HGPII is posting the detailed responses to its Web site, www.healthcaregpoii.com. The GPOs gathered in Charlotte to discuss their disclosures, share best practices and report progress.

"Self-governance and public transparency have proven effective in the defense industry and other sectors," said Richard J. Bednar, HGPII coordinator. "A forum like the one we've held over the past two days is a powerful way to spread best practices and shine a spotlight on the industry's successes."

Approximately 100 people from a dozen organizations attended the Best Practices Forum. The agenda included a roundtable discussion with HGPII's Steering Committee: Susan DeVore, chief operating officer of Premier; Dan James, president of MedAssets Supply Chain Systems; Don Black, president and CEO of Child Health Corporation of America; Todd Ebert, CEO of Amerinet, Inc.; Jim Fitzgerald, CEO of HealthTrust Purchasing Group (HPG); Lee Perlman, president and CEO of GNYHA Ventures, Inc.; Charles (Chuck) Saunders, CEO of Broadlane; John Strong, president and CEO of Consorta; and Joellyn Willis, CEO of Novation.

"We are taking home a number of ideas from this forum that will strengthen our ethics and compliance efforts," said Alan Yuspeh, senior vice president, Ethics, Compliance and Corporate Responsibility at HCA, Inc., which is the primary owner of the purchasing group HPG. "We were pleased with the energy of the conversations in which a range of best practices were reviewed and discussed."

About the Healthcare Group Purchasing Industry Initiative

Healthcare group purchasing organizations help healthcare providers meet one of their greatest challenges -- controlling costs while advancing quality patient care. The Initiative is a voluntary association of healthcare GPOs created in 2005 to encourage and sustain best ethical and business conduct practices in the GPO industry. The Initiative's founding members are Amerinet, Broadlane, Child Health Corporation of America, Consorta, GNYHA Ventures, Inc., Healthtrust Purchasing Group, MedAssets, Novation and Premier, Inc. These companies include the largest group purchasing organizations in the United States, estimated to represent more than 80 percent of the volume purchased through GPOs. For additional information, please visit www.healthcaregpoii.com.

Source: Business Wire

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