Latest National Sourcing Collaborative Program from MedAssets Delivers Participating Providers Substantial Savings in Lab Distribution

ATLANTA, March 4, 2014 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- MedAssets MDAS today announced that its latest National Sourcing Collaborative event, a program designed to generate lowest market price points in products and services, will drive an estimated $5 million annually in added value in the laboratory distribution services category for participating MedAssets clients. A three-year contract for lab distribution was awarded for more than 100 MedAssets healthcare provider IDNs and hospitals, representing 25 percent of the annual MedAssets GPO spend in this category.

This latest event builds upon a program that has delivered significant savings opportunities to more than 300 MedAssets clients over the past three years. MedAssets National Sourcing Collaborative program has delivered a cumulative savings of $135 million –- a 24 percent savings across multiple product categories, including contrast media, enteral nutritionals, fecal management products, exam gloves and non-invasive blood pressure cuffs.  

"MedAssets National Collaborative program is a powerful purchasing strategy that aligns business and clinical objectives across select products," said Teresa Dail, chief supply chain officer, Vanderbilt University Medical Center. "We have seen the extraordinary value in this program as it supports our system's overall goals to promote clinical alignment, standardization and collaboration."

National Sourcing Event Drives Scale in New Era of Reform

New healthcare legislation has set the stage for the development of accountable care organizations and value-based purchasing programs built upon comparative effectiveness. MedAssets has embraced this concept with its National Sourcing Collaborative strategy, built around front-line clinicians and end users who determine the overall value of products and services in a category.

"With supply costs on the rise, healthcare providers and suppliers both strive for innovative ways to lower costs while also improving patient care," said Les Popiolek, senior vice president, Strategic Sourcing, MedAssets. "Collaborative approaches to reducing product costs don't need to be bound by geography. Our program enables providers across the country to leverage national purchasing volume through a strategic, analytical and clinician-led approach. As a result, they are able to secure industry-leading pricing through alignment of supply chain and clinicians, ultimately partnering with providers and suppliers to create best practices and achieve extraordinary value."

MedAssets will host its next National Sourcing Collaborative event in March 2014 for ECG electrode supplies.

About MedAssets

MedAssets MDAS is a healthcare performance improvement company focused on helping providers realize financial and operational gains so that they can sustainably serve the needs of their community. More than 4,400 hospitals and 122,000 non-acute healthcare providers currently use the company's evidence-based solutions, best practice processes and analytics to help reduce the total cost of care, enhance operational efficiency, align clinical delivery, and improve revenue performance across the care continuum. For more information, please visit www.medassets.com.

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