HSCA
Healthcare Group Purchasing Organizations: Driving Quality Throughout the Healthcare System
BY TODD EBERT, INTERIM CEO OF HSCA
The COVID-19 pandemic has underscored the importance of ensuring a safe
Safety and Health (NIOSH) and ensure
and reliable supply of quality medical products. Patients and providers depend upon
safeguards for product quality. GPOs also
access to high-quality, affordable medical supplies, and shortages of such products or
provided guidance to member hospitals
use of counterfeit or inferior supplies jeopardizes patient care. As the sourcing and
on how health systems can protect against
purchasing partners to America’s acute and non-acute healthcare providers, healthcare
supply chain bad actors and how to safely
group purchasing organizations (GPOs) are committed to ensuring quality and reliability
vet products to ensure worker and patient
throughout the healthcare system.
safety. These efforts helped to ensure healthcare providers and physicians on the front lines were properly equipped and
GPOs are supply chain leaders in
arise, enabling providers to continue to
to care for COVID-19 patients, and that
quality assurance and take a comprehen-
provide high-quality, uninterrupted care to
COVID-19 patients had access to quality
sive approach to purchasing that con-
their patients. GPOs also work to identify
products such as ventilators.
siders not only the competitive pricing
additional manufacturers for products in
offered, but also the quality of the manu-
shortage and help bring them to market as
sight over the entire healthcare supply chain
facturer and the reliability and stability of
quickly as possible to help reduce product
to advocate for policy solutions that help
supply. Because the United States Food
scarcity, prevent price spikes, and increase
incentivize quality, reliability, and a steady
and Drug Administration (FDA) plays an
competition in the marketplace.
supply of products. For example, HSCA
GPOs also leverage their unique line of
important role in assessing manufacturer
and its member GPOs advocated for provi-
quality, GPOs evaluate manufacturers ac-
sions in the CARES Act that strengthened
cording to Current Good Manufacturing
manufacturer reporting requirements to
Practices (cGMP) regulations and inspec-
include certain information about active
tion reports issued by the FDA. Due to
pharmaceutical ingredients and other raw
the stability and predictability of product
materials, to help better prevent, assess,
demand that GPO contracts provide,
and address shortages of medical products
manufacturers are increasingly willing to
needed for patient care in the U.S. HSCA
share quality-related data with GPOs, al-
also supported the Safeguarding Therapeu-
lowing GPOs to have greater insight into
tics Act, which enhanced FDA’s authority
the quality and reliability of manufactur-
to destroy counterfeit drugs and medical
ers when sourcing contracts.
devices at American ports of entry.
As quality issues can often lead to drug
GPOs’ fierce commitment to quality
As the U.S. continues to address the
shortages, GPOs help member hospitals
helped to protect member hospitals from
COVID-19 pandemic and prepare for the
lessen their exposure to shortages by
purchasing counterfeit or inferior goods
challenges ahead, GPOs remain com-
evaluating manufacturer reliability and
during the COVID-19 pandemic, work-
mitted to driving quality and reliability
helping providers establish best practice
ing around the clock to field thousands of
throughout the healthcare system and
purchasing procedures. GPOs help hospi-
inquiries and vet new manufacturers for
working with healthcare providers to
tals source and safely migrate to alternate
compliance with standards set by the FDA
deliver the best products at the best value
products when shortages or quality issues
and National Institute for Occupational
and enable first-class patient care.
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August 2021 | The Journal of Healthcare Contracting
