ASCEND program helps achieve rapid improvements in supply chain performance

Hospitals and health systems participating in the Premier healthcare alliance’s ASCEND™ (Accelerated Supply Chain Endeavor) program have reduced their supply expenses in recently launched categories by up to 24 percent since May 2009. More than 90 participants that represent approximately $2.7 billion in supply chain purchasing volume and close to 24,000 hospital beds are collaborating to share best practices in supply chain efficiency as a part of the program.

Healthcare providers are saving with industry leading suppliers in four categories:

• Patient Bedside Products with Medline Inc. of Mundelein, Ill., the nation's largest privately held manufacturer and distributor of healthcare products, with savings of up to 24 percent;
• Can liners with Berry Plastics, a leading manufacturer and marketer of plastic packaging products of Evansville, Ind., with savings of up to 10 percent;
• Chart paper with Print Media, a minority-owned company in Miami, with savings of up to 8 percent; and
• Obstetrical monitoring devices with Clinical Innovations, LLC of Murray, Utah, which focuses on healthcare solutions for women and infants, with savings of up to 4 percent.

“ASCEND has helped us achieve immediate savings that are sustainable over time,” said Maria T. Wirhouski, purchasing manager in Materials Management at Wayne Memorial Hospital in Goldsboro, N.C. “Collaborating among participants allows us to better communicate with other hospitals and share best practices that improve our patient care processes.”

“A collective and time-sensitive commitment to one supplier passes on savings in contract sales and marketing to ASCEND participants, and reinforces the value of group purchasing to providers and suppliers alike. This is particularly true for the smaller supplier like Print Media that must spend more to promote high quality products and excellent customer service,” said owner and CEO Robert Gonzalez.

Print Media was recently ranked among the nation’s 500 leading Hispanic-owned firms by Hispanic Business Magazine.

The ASCEND program is designed to help healthcare providers achieve and sustain rapid improvements in supply chain performance. It also assists Premier alliance member hospitals in ongoing efforts to control and reduce costs through simplified purchasing processes, appropriate clinical utilization and specially negotiated contracts.

“ASCEND participants are achieving supply chain savings that directly impact their bottom lines,” said Premier Purchasing Partners President Mike Alkire. “The program is allowing them to drive lower prices, reduce total cost of care without sacrificing quality, and create metrics and benchmarks that ensure continuing progress. ASCEND members are eager to collaborate and share strategies to leverage volume and standardization.”

A major ASCEND component is Premier’s proprietary analytical tools that identify opportunities to reduce overall supply expenses. Key among these is SpendAdvisor MySpend, Premier’s innovative spend management decision support tool.

Additionally, available to all members are comparative database and clinical focus tools such as SupplyFocus, which have helped hospitals achieve a wide range of contract benefits. SpineFocus, OrthopedicFocus and CardiacFocus also provide blended and blinded pricing benchmarks in high-cost, high-margin physician preference areas.

As membership in ASCEND grows and the value of the program is further recognized by suppliers, members are expected to earn even greater contract benefits.