The Healthcare Group Purchasing
Industry Initiative (HGPII ), an independent
organization dedicated to promoting transparency, accountability, ethics, and
best practices in the healthcare group purchasing industry, has published its tenth
Annual Report to the Public. The Annual Report – a national survey of group
purchasing organization (GPO) business practices – found that all GPOs surveyed
are providing high levels of transparency in their contracting processes and
are adhering to strict codes of conduct to promote business ethics.
According to the report, GPOs are
actively promoting the availability of new innovative technologies in the
healthcare marketplace, and consistently sponsoring programs to encourage
greater diversity in the supply chain by promoting firms with minority
ownership. The report also revealed that GPOS are sustaining a strong ethical
culture across their purchasing activities, using both public standards and
internal controls.
“This report is a milestone in the
ten- year history of HGPII that demonstrates that our members are rigorously
adhering to their stated commitments to high standards of ethics, procedural
fairness, and professionalism in providing their health service customers real
savings through group purchasing,” said former Representative Phil English
(R-PA), National Coordinator of HGPII. "Our review of the current business
practices in the supply chain - based on comprehensive surveys and detailed
direct interviews with people making the contracting decisions - demonstrates
that HGPII participants are continuing to make solid, measurable progress in
applying world class standards to the challenge of leveraging health care
savings from a competitive market while maintaining quality.”
“The number one goal of healthcare
group purchasing organizations is to provide value and cost-savings to member
providers, so that they can best serve patients,” said Todd Ebert, R.Ph.,
President and CEO of the Healthcare Supply Chain Association. “HGPII’s annual
review of the healthcare group purchasing industry reaffirms that GPOs are
transparent, accountable, and promoting competition in the market. By doing so,
GPOs are creating critical savings and efficiencies for their acute and
non-acute member providers – including the over 98 percent of all US hospitals
that utilize a GPO.”
HGPII monitors supply chain
practices by reviewing member questionnaires, conducting follow-up interviews
and select field reviews, and conducting an annual industry-wide best practices
conference with mandatory member attendance. HGPII is managed as an independent
institution by Arent Fox LLP, with oversight by key industry leaders. In
addition to former Rep. English, HGPII is co-coordinated by former Senator
Byron Dorgan (D-ND) and former Senator Robert Bennett (R-UT).
All Healthcare Supply Chain
Association (HSCA) member
GPOs are also members of HGPII. GPO Executives decided to create HGPII as a
platform to promote the development of transparency and accountability
standards, business practices, and ethics in the healthcare supply chain. Since
its inception, HGPII member-GPOs have conformed to consistently high standards
in their bidding and awards process, and have identified transparency in these
contracts as an organizational priority.