Is Your GPO Partner Saving You Money or Just Replacing Your Staff?

This article was written by Lisa Miller.
Your group purchasing organization (GPO) service is expected to find you cost-savings, but its bundled services and products could cost more than if you simply hired a full-time hospital staff. However, would an in-house staff bring enough cost-savings to offset employee salaries?
Understandably, a full-time staff tasked with reviewing and negotiating on your behalf would be a costly venture, but the return on investment might be worth the effort. Considering how much hospitals spend daily on non-labor services, an experienced staff of professionals negotiating prices, analyzing data and reviewing your contracts is a tempting alternative, but what if you could have both?
By both we mean a full-time staff working to save you money without the cost of hiring an in-house staff, which defeats the purpose of saving you money. For this setup, you might consider an independent consulting service that works endlessly to find you cost-savings without the added salaries of an in-house staff or the added fees of a GPO.
GPOs – Cost-Saving or Cost-Replacing?
Many hospitals work with GPOs to find cost-savings, but GPOs have started to bundle their own products and services, replacing the cost-savings they find with their own fees. Additionally, what exactly are the bundled services doing for your organization? Are they necessary for your needs and are all services being utilized? Finally, can you find the same services in the marketplace or is it something exclusive and innovative?
Perhaps you could find innovation with your full-time staff because employee ideas are one of your best assets. Or, you could save yourself the added cost of employee salaries and hire an independent consulting service to develop an exclusive spend strategy for your organization.
An independent service would leverage strategies used in other hospitals and consist of professionals who are experienced in purchase spend savings. Click To Tweet
VIE Healthcare has helped many hospitals reduce the cost of running a hospital through innovation and diligence. We also help hospitals revamp their work culture, improve employee performance and streamline their operations for improved mapping of the patient journey. To learn more about VIE and our unique concepts, leave a comment below or call our office today for a free consultation.