With increasing demand for outpatient care, the demand for new buildings is also increasing. The latest research projects The market for ambulatory surgeons (ASC) will grow by 21% by 2029 – closed by the increasing demand for outpatient surgical interventions and increasing patient preferences for these environments.
If ASCS intends to build, expand or rebuild their facilities in order to satisfy this increasing demand, the focus is more on architects and contractors. Nevertheless, there is a powerful strategic partner that is too often left out of the equation – group shopping organizations (GPOs).
ASCs and other outpatient care facilities work in a very inexpensive environment. You have to manage slim margins and improve the patient results without breaking your budgets. Under these circumstances, GPOs are usually regarded as an instrument to secure better prices for daily medical care. However, this perception transmits the key role that a GPO can play in capital projects.
“There are many options for non -acute institutions to consider GPOs in most as” non -traditional “contracts,” said Paige Dodson, Senior Director of Construction and Facility Solutions at Healthtrust. “These include areas such as lifts, doors, drywall, HLK, lighting – everything that is bound to the brick and mortar of a facility.”
The strategic value of GPO contracts
From floor to mechanical devices, the GPOs use the national scale to secure competitive prices for building materials that an independent ASC or an outpatient network cannot generally receive. However, the primary promise of a GPO is not limited to the price. With the aggregation of the purchasing power of thousands of members and the support of complex projects, GPOs can also offer ASCs:
- Industry competence and visibility of market: GPOs offer profound knowledge and robust data analyzes for supplier skills, regional price trends and contractual conditions-and protect acute care facilities from hidden costs or unfavorable conditions.
- Optimized and compliant procurement: With standardized terms and pre -defaulted contracts, the GPOs simplify the procurement process and at the same time reduce the administrative burden at the same time compliance with the official compliance, which is important for ASCs, in which employees often have several hats.
- Risk reduction: GPOs can restrict the commitment to problems or costs of the providers, in particular if the construction costs continue to increase by folding the suppliers for the uniqueness of the contract expectations and productions.
- Cross-facility standardization: If an ASC is part of a wider network, GPOs can standardize materials and designs across facilities to ensure consistent patient experiences.
GPOs play a long -term role in promoting clinical and consumable supply chains, so that health organizations do not often consider capital projects via the same procurement lens. In addition, construction, renovation and expansion projects occur less often and often fall outside the area of ​​responsibility of the Supply chain of health care. Overlooking the role that a GPO can play to give a significant value – especially if the market speed is of crucial importance.
“Many managers do not recognize that their GPO can enable contract access that affects almost every element of a capital project,” said Dodson. “But it is not just about savings-es is about accelerating schedules with the providers paid, reducing deviations and improving consistency through standardized procurement practices. In the healthcare sector, the speed has an effect to market sales directly.
Use of GPOs from concept to completion
As already mentioned, the timing is everything. According to Dodson, the inclusion of a GPO at the beginning of the process – ideal during the planning or design phase – can achieve considerably higher returns.
“Too often we get a call when the dry wall rises,” she said. “However, if we are brought with us at an early stage, we help to ensure the standardization of design and products, to identify more efficient selection options for devices and to support budgeting decisions with real -time market data.”
If GPOs are brought along from day one, you can:
- Offer the objective provider recommendations: GPOs serve as an impartial party during the selection of suppliers without being involved in specific brands or services.
- Inform budgeting through data: Access at detailed market prices and trend data enables ASC institutions to make better informed decisions about where investing or are economical.
- Consider the long -term value: GPOS promote a focus on the total ownership costs – including energy consumption, maintenance and maintenance – as purely in advance.
A way of thinking for outpatient managers
The possibility for ASCS is clear: What if your GPO could be more than a saving motor – and instead a trustworthy consultant throughout the life cycle of facility development?
“The teams of the facilities are often under immense pressure, tight budgets and even narrower schedules,” said Dodson. “A GPO is an expansion of your team that offers support, strategy and peace of mind.”
While ASCs continue to grow and develop, managers should look beyond traditional roles and examine how their existing partnerships – like those with GPOs – can be used in a new, strategic way. Regardless of whether the construction of a new surgery center or the conversion of an existing space, an early and uniform engagement with a GPO can unlock more intelligent decisions, faster schedules and better results.