ATLANTA, Aug. 6, 2015 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- MedAssets (NASDAQ:MDAS) today announced that UMass Memorial Health Care (UMass Memorial), the largest not-for-profit health system in central Massachusetts, renewed and expanded its longstanding relationship with MedAssets to further drive cost reductions enterprise-wide. The multi-year agreement leverages the breadth of MedAssets supply chain management and procurement solutions, consulting expertise, sourcing services and analytics to further optimize supply chain performance, streamline procurement operations and improve clinical alignment.
"UMass Memorial Health Care, like many health systems, is in the process of evolving our supply chain as a strategic tool for cost reduction," said Sergio Melgar,CFO for UMass Memorial Health Care. "MedAssets has provided us with a proven framework to find hidden costs through a tailored roadmap that leverages leading practice benchmarks, key performance indicators and the scale offered by their National Procurement Center. We are confident that by pursuing resource utilization and standardization initiatives, along with new business approaches to ensure supply price and payment accuracy, that our system will be well-equipped to achieve a value-driven, strategically run supply chain."
Multi-Pronged Approach to Yield Financial and Operational Supply Chain Excellence
While many healthcare organizations are operating successful supply chain practices and operations today, many more fall victim to significant inefficiencies and missed savings opportunities by not adopting supply chain best practices and automated purchasing processes. To build off the average annual savings of $5 million that UMass Memorial has achieved since 2006 with MedAssets various cost management solutions, the system will implement the company's end-to-end supply chain management and procurement technologies:
- Centralized Procurement: Consolidates and standardizes purchasing functions to MedAssets National Procurement Center in Plano, Texas for greater efficiencies and controls
- eCommerce Exchange: A proprietary ecommerce platform that automates supply-chain transactions and provides real-time price verification
- Item Master Services: Ensures the item file contains the most relevant supplies at the correct contracted price
- Transaction Management: Allows providers to conduct ecommerce with any supplier regardless of size or technical ability, and facilitates the resolution for the root cause of price discrepancies while increasing visibility to spend
- Spend and Pharmacy Analytics: A business intelligence tool that provides real-time visibility into pharmacy and supply chain spend to support cost-reduction initiatives and improve contract negotiations
- Supply Chain Management Services: Offers best practice benchmarks and key performance indicators through outsourced management of the supply chain
- Performance Improvement Consulting: Lean management processes to improve quality and patient satisfaction, capture revenue, control cost, improve margins and cash flow and optimize operational efficiency
- EvaluationPRO™ and IntelligencePRO™, Powered by Procured Health: Expert services and analytics to improve evaluation and purchasing of high-expense physician preference items and other medical/surgical supplies
- Strategic Sourcing: A strategic, analytical and clinician-led approach to secure industry-leading pricing for high quality products through MedAssets group purchasing organization
"The financial implications of the Affordable Care Act along with other federal regulations make it imperative for hospitals to take a deep, comprehensive look at operations and non-labor cost reductions," said Mike Nolte, president and chief operating officer, MedAssets. "Providers need to better understand their total cost for providing patient care and implement processes to root out revenue leakage due to inefficient supply management operations. We are excited that UMass Memorial Health Care has entrusted us with helping them elevate their supply chain operations into an enterprise-wide cost reduction strategy."
About UMass Memorial Health Care
UMass Memorial Health Care is the largest not-for-profit health care system in Central Massachusetts with more than 12,900 employees and 1,670 physicians, many of whom are members of UMass Memorial Medical Group. Our member hospitals and entities include Clinton Hospital, HealthAlliance Hospital, Marlborough Hospital, UMass Memorial Medical Center and Community Healthlink, our behavioral health agency. With our teaching and research partner, the University of Massachusetts Medical School, our extensive primary care network and our cancer, diabetes, heart and vascular, and musculoskeletal programs, UMass Memorial delivers safe, high-quality and compassionate care.
Call 855-UMASS-MD (855-862-7763) for all your health care needs. Visit umassmemorialhealthcare.org
About MedAssets
MedAssets (NASDAQ:MDAS) is a healthcare performance improvement company focused on helping providers realize financial and operational gains so that they can sustainably serve the needs of their community. Approximately 4,500 hospitals and 123,000 non-acute healthcare providers currently use the company's evidence-based solutions, best practice processes and analytics to help reduce the total cost of care, enhance operational efficiency, align clinical delivery, and improve revenue performance across the care continuum. For more information, please visit www.medassets.com.
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