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HIGPA founder and retired MAGNET President & CEO Derwood Dunbar (previous subject of an InsideHIGPA post, as well as the recipient of the recent 2010 HIGPA Achievement Award at the 2010 International Expo) recently wrote a piece for DOTMed News, a leading medical device and equipment industry publication.
The article, which ran in the March 2011 issue, focuses on the GPO Safe Harbor, specifically the original Congressional intent behind the provision, as well as its continuing relevance in the current marketplace.
The reasoning behind its inception in 1987 still holds true; as Mr Dunbar states, “Since adoption of the Safe Harbor, GPOs have helped hospitals and other health care providers, such as long-term care facilities improve processes that maximize efficiency, patient safety, labor and expenses... The Safe Harbor regulation will continue to allow GPOs to benefit hospitals and other health care providers, especially during a time of reduced budgets and patient resources.”