Top Three Healthcare Supply Chain Executives Challenge Industry

DALLAS, April 20, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- Senior executives from the top three healthcare organizations on Gartner's "The Healthcare Supply Chain Top 25 for 2010"* revealed strategies their companies leveraged to become industry supply chain leaders during this morning's keynote panel discussion at the 2011 GHX Healthcare Supply Chain Summit.

Craig Smith, president and CEO, Owens & Minor; Michelle DeJonge, vice president, Global Supply Chain, Medical Device and Diagnostics, Johnson & Johnson; and Vance Moore, president and CEO, Resource Optimization & Innovation (ROi), the supply chain division for Sisters of Mercy Health System, challenged more than 600 healthcare industry leaders to ruthlessly eliminate cost and aggressively embrace change.

Hussain Mooraj, managing vice president, Gartner, moderated the panel, and counseled the audience that a driver for "The Healthcare Supply Chain Top 25 for 2010" list is to help shift the industry from its traditional supply chain perspective to a value chain perspective. He added that the five pillars of that healthcare value chain are patient focus, collaboration, network visibility, dynamic supply and change management.

"It starts with the leadership," said Craig Smith of Owens & Minor. "It's not about winners and losers but about delivering more efficient patient care.  We worked hard over the past two years to focus on efficiency and productivity. There's a heightened sense of urgency and we are working to push the envelope and take the reins in proving to other industries that we can drive efficiency." Smith added that value used to be defined by product cost; today it is more about service provided.

Owens & Minor placed first among the Gartner "Top 25," which each year recognizes healthcare organizations that focus on the healthcare value chain's pursuit of high-quality care at optimal cost, while Johnson & Johnson was second and Sisters of Mercy Health System was third.

Michelle DeJonge of Johnson and Johnson said, "It's about transformation." She added that Johnson and Johnson embedded that transformational attitude into the culture. "We are focused on simplifying and standardizing wherever we can to eliminate waste."

"Supply chain is experiencing a sea change," said Vance Moore with Sisters of Mercy Health System. "The supply chain has to link to the organization's key strategy. We are bringing people into the organization from outside the healthcare industry so we have a different room of talent resulting in more rich discussion of how to accomplish our goals."

*Gartner, Inc. The Healthcare Supply Chain Top 25 for 2010, Wayne McDonnell et al, November 17, 2010.

About GHX

Global Healthcare Exchange, LLC (GHX) makes healthcare more efficient by delivering software and services that enable both healthcare providers and suppliers to increase efficiency, lower costs and deliver better patient care. With the largest footprint in healthcare supply chain management, GHX connects more than 80 percent of licensed hospital beds at U.S. hospitals, as well as providers in Canada and Europe, with the suppliers from which they purchase the majority of their medical-surgical supplies. GHX is transforming today's linear healthcare supply chain into the industry's only Healthcare Supply Cloud(SM), providing 360-degree visibility into areas affecting both clinical and financial performance. Working with GHX, organizations can improve business processes, automate supply chain systems and collaborate to solve the tough challenges facing healthcare today. GHX is owned by members of the healthcare industry, including Abbott Exchange, Inc.; AmerisourceBergen Corp.; Baxter Healthcare Corp.; B. Braun Medical Inc.; BD; Boston Scientific Corp.; Cardinal Health, Inc.; Covidien; C.R. Bard, Inc.; Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc.; GE Healthcare; HCA; Johnson & Johnson Health Care Systems Inc.; McKesson Corp.; Medtronic USA, Inc.; Owens & Minor; Premier, Inc.; Siemens; University HealthSystem Consortium; and VHA Inc.  For more information, visit www.ghx.com.

SOURCE GHX

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