Medical University Hospital Authority Chooses GHX To Automate, Optimize Its Supply Chain

LOUISVILLE, Colo., Dec. 2, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- Medical University Hospital Authority (MUHA), Charleston, S.C., has selected healthcare supply chain technology provider GHX to help automate its purchasing and accounts payable processes, increase visibility into spend and drive contract compliance. MUHA expects the supply chain transformation initiative, which GHX will help enable, to help it contain costs, standardize processes and deliver care more efficiently to its patients.

Under a contract with GHX, MUHA will join the GHX exchange, the largest healthcare-centric electronic trading platform in the world. GHX also will provide a suite of procure-to-pay (P2P) technologies, called Procurement Suite, for item master management, real-time contract and price management, and requisitioning and workflow control, as well as the OnDemand AP® e-invoicing package, to address inefficiencies identified in its supply chain and help MUHA achieve the cost savings goals it has set for itself.

In addition, GHX will deliver consulting services through the GHX Business Solutions group, which will include optimizing people and processes to more efficiently use the technology solutions MUHA has chosen.

"With declining reimbursements and other challenges facing the healthcare industry, it is imperative that we look at every means possible to capture all the revenue to which we are entitled, and to cut costs wherever possible without impacting patient care," said Lisa Montgomery, chief financial officer at MUHA.

"In the end, it's all about trying to improve the bottom line by making our supply chain lean and efficient," Regine Honore, MUHA's director of Supply Chain Management, said. "We've taken a proactive approach to cost containment that will help us improve how we're recognizing items that are revenue items, eliminate duplication of processes and standardize what we're doing as we buy medical-surgical products. And that will help us take care of our patients more efficiently."

Honore said the organization feels GHX is best equipped to help it achieve its goals, including:

• Increasing the number of suppliers with which MUHA is connected through the GHX exchange from 40 to more than 250
• Bringing more than 40 percent of its unmanaged non-file spend under control
• Providing a single source of truth for supply chain data through a data link between the operating room, MUHA's ERP and its inventory system
• Driving deeper classification of items (from 35 categories to 1,200) for strong product standardization and contract optimization opportunities
• Providing an invoice automation process that more than doubles the number of invoices processed by each individual

Derek Smith, executive vice president of Marketing, Product and Business Development, said that by taking a holistic approach to transforming its supply chain, MUHA has set itself up to meet the challenges facing healthcare today. "MUHA, like many healthcare organizations, has compelling reasons to change the way it does business," said Smith. "It recognizes that the healthcare supply chain of the future will be lean, quick to respond to opportunities and challenges alike, and viewed as a strategic imperative for the financial health of the entire organization."

About GHX

Global Healthcare Exchange, LLC (GHX) makes healthcare more efficient by delivering software and services that enable both healthcare providers and suppliers to increase efficiency, lower costs and provide better patient care. With the largest footprint in healthcare supply chain management, GHX connects more than 80 percent of licensed hospital beds at U.S. hospitals, as well as providers in Canada and Europe, with the suppliers from which they purchase the majority of their medical-surgical supplies. GHX is transforming today's linear healthcare supply chain into the industry's only Healthcare Supply Cloud(SM), providing 360-degree visibility into areas affecting both clinical and financial performance. Working with GHX, organizations can improve business processes, automate supply chain systems and collaborate to solve the tough challenges facing healthcare today. GHX is owned by members of the healthcare industry, including Abbott Exchange, Inc.; AmerisourceBergen Corp.; Baxter Healthcare Corp.; B. Braun Medical Inc.; BD; Boston Scientific Corp.; Cardinal Health, Inc.; Covidien; C.R. Bard, Inc.; Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc.; GE Healthcare; HCA; Johnson & Johnson Health Care Systems Inc.; McKesson Corp.; Medtronic USA, Inc.; Owens & Minor; Premier, Inc.; Siemens; University HealthSystem Consortium; and VHA Inc.  For more information, visit www.ghx.com. Follow GHX on Twitter @GHX_LLC and on Facebook @GHX.

SOURCE GHX