Afaxys, Inc. Expands Afaxys Group Purchasing Organization to National Public Health Community

CHARLESTON, S.C., July 19, 2016 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Afaxys, Inc. announced the expansion of its group purchasing organization, Afaxys GPO, to serve the national public health community with the products and services needed to support the more than 23 million patients who seek treatment from clinics, hospitals and health departments. Afaxys GPO is working with more than 2,300 clinics or member sites that purchase products and services across a broad range of categories, and the membership rolls are continuing to rapidly grow regardless of clinic size or purchase volume.

Obtaining affordable and reliable access to healthcare products and services is a frequent challenge confronting the public health sector. Afaxys GPO offers clinics, hospitals and health departments of all sizes a high-touch, customer-focused approach by negotiating significant discounts on medical supplies, medications, office supplies, and other goods and services. Afaxys GPO has developed unique partnerships for discounts on products and services that clinics often can't find elsewhere. Additionally, Afaxys GPO offers contracting services without membership fees, volume minimums or exclusivity requirements.

"Every year, more than 23 million people get their health care from public health clinics, and Afaxys was created to fill a startling gap that made it challenging for these health providers to get the products and services they need to treat patients," said Afaxys CEO Ronda Dean. "We are thrilled to open our membership so that providers in the public health community can receive the best possible pricing and, as a result, spend more time on what matters."

In conjunction with the national expansion of the Afaxys GPO, which will formally take place at the National Association of County & City Health Officials (NACCHO) Annual Meeting on July 19 in Phoenix, Afaxys GPO is debuting insights from an in-depth survey of GPO customers to understand public health purchasers' buying experiences, identify what is needed in the purchasing processes to better support patient care, and determine how the buying experience can be improved and made more efficient.

The survey found that streamlined processes are in great demand in order to alleviate the stress and rigor of researching for the best prices for products on a regular basis. Clinic staff members commonly play multiple roles ranging from procurement and medical care to patient management, but if they had better purchasing processes, they would have additional time for patient care.

Specifically, the survey found that purchasers' among top priorities when it comes to buying medical supplies and medications are price (90 percent), high-quality products (79 percent) and great customer support (76 percent). Presently, only one-third of buyers who work in the public health sector described the procurement processes as good while 13 percent went so far as to say it was stressful and challenging.

Survey respondents said procurement takes up a significant portion of their work day – 46 percent spend at least 25 percent of their time on purchasing, and 25 percent said they spend more than half their time on it. Notably, of those asked, 15 percent said that they would have more time to spend focusing on patient care if they did not have to spend so much time on procurement. In an environment where orders are still largely done by phone, paper and fax, respondents expressed a preference for better interfaces and more transparent ordering processes to make the procurement experience more effective and efficient.

Afaxys GPO is pleased to offer clinics, hospitals and health departments the opportunity to be members without any fees, minimum orders or exclusivity requirements, thereby benefit from favorable pricing across a broad base of healthcare products and services. They gain essential access to best-in-class suppliers and providers in order to serve patients, regardless of their size or purchase volume. Additionally, Afaxys GPO provides automatic membership in the biggest non-acute-care national GPO – MedAssets/Provista, which expands access to hundreds of contracts with best-tier pricing with major suppliers, distributors and manufacturers. Afaxys GPO is committed to improving the purchasing process to help free up public health resources for patient care.

To learn more about Afaxys GPO, and to stay up-to-date on the latest news, please visit gpo.afaxys.com.

This report reflects the findings of an online survey conducted from April 25-May 25, 2016 among current or past members of Afaxys GPO. The sample included 52 respondents and has a margin of error of +/- 13.57 percent.

About Afaxys
Afaxys, Inc. is a mission driven, socially conscious business enterprise dedicated to serving the women's healthcare needs of public health providers and their patients. An emerging leader in the public health sector, Afaxys manages the supply needs of public health providers, ensuring customers receive affordable, reliable access to the products and services they need to care for patients. Afaxys operates a Group Purchasing Organization, which negotiates favorable pricing across a broad base of healthcare products and services so its customers have access to best-in-class suppliers and service providers. In 2013, Afaxys launched its pharmaceutical division, Afaxys Pharmaceuticals bringing a strong portfolio of quality FDA-approved branded and generic oral contraceptives to the public health sector. The Company has an expanding portfolio of quality FDA-approved pharmaceuticals, which are available exclusively through the public health sector including public health clinics, college and university health centers, community health centers, non-retail prescribers, as well as city, county, state and federal facilities, at prices intended to be consistently lower than those currently on the market. To learn more, visit www.afaxys.com.

Afaxys Disclosure Notice
This press release was issued in the United States and is intended as reference information for U.S. journalists and customers. The information contained in this Afaxys press release is accurate at the time of issuance, and the company assumes no responsibility for updating forward-looking statements to reflect subsequent developments.

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SOURCE Afaxys, Inc.

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