Senator Lamar
Alexander (R-TN) delivered the opening keynote on the third and final day of
the HSCA 2015 Healthcare Supply Chain Expo, discussing the current climate on
Capitol Hill from an insider’s perspective. Senator Alexander, who is chairman
of the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP),
explored some of the most pressing issues facing the healthcare industry today –
including electronic health records (EHRs) and the rollout of Meaningful Use
stages II and III.
Following the Senator, top GPO Executives from Premier Inc.,
Novation, HealthTrust Purchasing Group, MedAssets, and Greater New York
Hospital Association (GNYHA) convened for the Expo’s final panel. Moderated by
John Pritchard, publisher of the Journal of Healthcare Publishing, the panel “The
State of the Industry: Perspectives from GPO Executives” explored
how GPO executives prefer to do business, the state of the industry, and how
healthcare reform legislation has affected their business, members, customers,
and outlook for the future of the industry. Panelists included:
Durral Gilbert, President, Supply
Chain Services, Premier Inc.
Jody Hatcher, President, Offering
Delivery and Operations, Novation
Lee Perlman, President, GNYHA
Ventures, Inc. and Executive Vice President, and CFO, GNYHA
Moderator Pritchard asked the executives how their companies
kept up with ever-changing customer requirements. Several of the panelists
addressed the transition that providers are currently going through in terms of
payment for quality, versus payment for cost. While GPOs are committed to
getting the best value for their provider customers, they emphasized their work
helping their clients understand quality, outcomes, and real innovation – so that
they deliver the best possible combination of cost and quality.
Panelists
also discussed the future of healthcare consolidation, agreeing that
consolidation will continue and create opportunities as it does so. The
executives saw their jobs as helping their provider customers make forecasts
and predictions in the new healthcare ecosystem, to put them in a winning
position.
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