Poised to Do Business in New Ways, Healthcare Industry Will Examine Opportunities for Change at GHX 2012 Healthcare Supply Chain Summit

LOUISVILLE, Colo., Nov. 21, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- For the 12th consecutive year, GHX will convene a broad cross-section of the healthcare industry to address challenges healthcare organizations face today, from how to manage business in the wake of declining revenues to ways to create rapid, effective change that can reduce operating costs. The 2012 GHX Healthcare Supply Chain Summit, set for May 7–9 in Orlando, will provide a forum for 700 healthcare providers, manufacturers, distributors and group purchasing organizations to assemble in a collaborative environment to identify and implement more efficient business practices that reduce costs while maintaining quality.

Each year, GHX assembles a group of experts to serve on the Summit Advisory Board, where they exchange ideas about the most pressing issues faced by healthcare business leaders. At a recent meeting, members of the board agreed that 2012 Summit participants will face some of the toughest challenges ever confronting the industry; that it is imperative those challenges be dealt with immediately;  and that today's operational issues must be addressed without losing sight of long-term planning and strategies healthcare businesses need for the future. Unless the cost of doing business in healthcare is immediately reduced—through process automation, technology improvements and greater alignment of buyer-seller business practices—the group agreed healthcare organizations increasingly may find themselves experiencing additional margin erosion.

The advisory board concluded Summit topics must address ways to drive quality in the supply chain, reduce variability, increase collaboration among buyers and sellers of healthcare products and, of course, drive down costs.  

"I know that when we focus on quality in my organization, we can reduce costs at the same time," says Dale Locklair, vice president, Procurement and Construction, for McLeod Health. "While maintaining this focus on quality, we are also looking at new ways to work with our vendors. Together, we can identify ways to change our mutual business practices to reduce costs for us both. We are focused on eliminating costs, not simply shifting them from McLeod Health to our partners and vendors."

The following are serving on this year's advisory board:

• John Abrams, Vice President, Cardinal Health
• Robert Beyer, Vice President, Supply Chain Services, Hospital Sisters Health System
• Mike Rose, Vice President, Supply Chain Visibility, Johnson & Johnson
• Jay Crowley, Senior Adviser for Patient Safety, Center for Devices and Radiological Health, U.S. Food and Drug Administration
• Becky Daniel, Vice President, Supply Chain Management, Texas Health Resources
• Alan Edwards, Vice President, Supply Chain, Mary Washington Healthcare
• Brian Gardiner, Vice President, North America Customer Support and Services, Haemonetics
• Corwin Hee, Director, e-Business Standards, Covidien
• Nancy LeMaster, Vice President, Supply Chain Operations, BJC HealthCare
• Dale Locklair, Vice President, Procurement and Construction, McLeod Health
• John Martin, Director of Hospital Services, Queensway Carleton Hospital, and Regional Lead  for Integrated Supply Services, Champlain Health Supply Services
• B. Scott McCallum, Vice President, Global Corporate Sales, Boston Scientific
• Eric O'Daffer, Analyst, Gartner
• Dennis Orthman, Senior Director, Strategic Marketplace Initiative (SMI)
• Jitendra Prasad, Senior Vice President, Contracting, Procurement and Supply Management, Alberta Health Services
• Kevin Stout, Executive Director, Medical Device Supply Chain Council
• Natalia Wilson, M.D., MPH, Co-director, Health Sector Supply Chain Research Consortium, Arizona State University

"The role GHX serves in healthcare is to convene the buyers and sellers of healthcare products. We've proven that by working together, problems can be solved for the whole community. As we develop the 2012 Summit program, I'm pleased to have a group of such influential advisors working with us," said Cheryl Flury, GHX vice president, Corporate Communications, and Summit advisory board chair. "The business of healthcare must improve faster than ever before. Today, I see our customers working together to improve shared business processes, leverage new technology and identify the best practices that can be game-changers in healthcare. GHX is in a position to help the industry advance more quickly as the community leverages the GHX network to solve key business issues."

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