2022 Winners

RWJBarnabas Health has implemented systems and processes that have led to a contract price exception rate of less than one-half of 1% for 1.5M PO lines with over 80% matching to an active contract. Utilizing a daily contract feed from CCXpert in conjunction with Tableau, they are able to work exceptions daily.

By fully integrating NuVia data into their data management process they realized a 25% reduction in PeopleSoft price exceptions over 2021. RWJ is now testing the consumption of 856/ ASNs into PeopleSoft to aid in the receipt process. Due to the high quality of their data, they run at a 95% and above invoice smoothing rate with an 85% touchless rate for the full invoice.

NYU Langone Health achieved success in 2022 with an innovative approach, strategic planning, collaboration with GHX, a customer-centric philosophy, agility, and a dedication to continuous improvement. Their success can be attributed to the following key factors:

Strategic planning: investing in processes that incorporate data-driven insights and input across all levels of the organization.
Collaboration: actively engaged and open to consistent collaboration, staying ahead of industry trends, and making informed decisions.
Continuous improvement: committed to seeking
out new opportunities for innovation and growth, encouraging risk-taking, learning and trying new things.
Prioritized contract management: using Price Sync and Contract Center to focus on managing contracts, resulting in a more precise understanding of contracting opportunities and better supplier compliance with contract pricing.
Accelerated automation: utilizing tools to manage and increase POs and invoice suppliers, leading to improved efficiency, reduced exceptions, and an increase in the number of perfect orders.
Optimized order management: appointing dedicated roles to manage different tools, resulting in a reduction of order exception rates and identification of contracting opportunities.

The keys to UC Irvine Health’s success in 2022 were:

Prioritizing their exception management practices by creating daily and weekly tasks to manage exceptions more proactively.
Refining their contract management standard operating procedures and workstream to increase contract validation. This increased visibility to potential off-contract spend and supported their reduction in price exceptions.
Leveraging automation to drive efficiencies to accelerate order turnaround time and to centralize where supply chain teams can find the most up-to-date information about orders.
Consistently revisiting their goals and objectives, with a willingness to act on areas where they were missing the mark or pivot to a different approach based on feedback from the teams.
Partnering with GHX to identify areas of opportunity and ensure they are effectively leveraging the solutions.

The Ottawa Hospital focused on processes and tools to drive automation within their supply chain, including:

Over the course of the pandemic, increased PO trading partners from 71 to 185 which accelerated automation and digital transformation to help overcome the limitations presented by staff working from home.
With the help of GHX solutions, they found $600k in overpayments for which the hospital was able to claim credits from suppliers.
Appointed a dedicated buyer for NuVia to actively manage item data, resulting in a more than 50% decrease in order exception rates.
Focused on identifying and pursuing contracting opportunities, which increased the hospital’s contract utilization rate from 54% to 74%.
Used GHX backorder and shipping reports to better manage backorders and shipments of critical medical supplies.

BD has a continuous improvement approach to serving customers through automation, which has driven the establishment of over 5,400 connections across the GHX platform. As a result, both BD and its customers benefit from automation throughout the entire order-to-payment cycle. BD has consistently expanded its automation year over year, including automating 3.5M business transactions in 2022. In addition, BD engaged in initiatives during 2022 to simplify customers’ experience in working with the company, such as consolidating ordering methods for their Vascular Access division.

BD brings a continuous improvement mindset to supply chain automation demonstrated by:

5,439 integrated trading partners on the Exchange
3.5M in integrated transactions with consistent year-over-year growth
25% increase in the automation of fax/email orders

Hologic’s eCommerce team is focused on driving automation and efficiency in the healthcare supply chain. This team continuously puts the needs of their customers first and proactively solves business needs that arise. They are leading their peers in automation growth and overall decrease in exception rates, which supports an improved customer experience across the board.

Hologic is consistently improving and leading the industry:

3,963 integrated trading partners on the Exchange
Approaching 500k in integrated transactions with consistent year-over-year growth
20% increase in the automation of fax/email orders
9% reduction in exceptions

UNC Health knew COVID-19 testing and vaccines were failing to reach those most vulnerable because of socioeconomic disparity. In response, the health system’s C-suite led an effort to develop the UNC Mobile Health Program, which aims to reduce healthcare inequities by physically meeting people where they are in the community and addressing acute care needs that otherwise may result in unnecessary ER visits.

Through the program, UNC Health brings services directly to underserved communities with a focus on displaying dignity and respect through every interaction, regardless of health history or social status. In partnership with community stakeholders across North Carolina, 3,977 tests were provided, 2,000+ PPE resources distributed (hand sanitizer, masks, etc.), 5,811 vaccines were administered, and 68% of patients served were from African American or Latinx communities.

The UNC Mobile Health Program continues to provide COVID-19 vaccine clinics to underserved communities across the state and has expanded to offer free flu vaccines to uninsured patients. They have partnered with several non-profit organizations to identify groups in most need of this service. Given the success of the program, they have plans to offer point-of-care screenings (e.g., blood glucose, Hemoglobin A1c) in the spring in partnership with UNC School of Nursing.

In 2022, Axogen, Inc. focused on increasing payment automation and eliminating credit
card payments by revising their payment policy to accept payment via check, ACH or GHX ePay. The new policy was communicated in three separate phased communications throughout 2022, giving customers 30+ days to comply. This policy change resulted in over $1.3M in hard dollar cost savings due to fee reductions and removal in 2022.

Axogen Manager, Treasury & Financial Services Ralph Engle and his team were recognized within their own organization with a STAR AWARD at their company year-end meeting for meeting and exceeding their goals and objectives.

The organizational alignment between accounts receivable, senior finance executives and commercial relationship teams will continue to drive savings, which will assist in furthering their efforts to automate with more provider networks on the order-to-invoice side to streamline that process.

KEY CONTRIBUTOR: Ralph Engle, Manager of Treasury and Financial Services, Axogen

In 2019, The University of Kansas Health System (TUKHS) executive leadership began a journey to implement a clinically integrated supply chain, establishing a Clinical Supply Optimization (CSO) team led by Chris Heath, system director. By coupling traditional value analysis processes with utilization management and implementation teams, the CSO team has delivered over $8M in savings for TUKHS.

The CSO team uses evidence-based analytics to optimize clinical, operational and economical stewardship. They are dedicated to ensuring the right product is available at the right price and the right time for the right clinical team using the right supplier (“5 Rights”). They build trusting relationships with clinicians by educating them on the team’s process, emphasizing the importance of their participation, and supporting quality, safety, operational and economic value as they relate to products and equipment.
At the end of each day, the CSO team is there to take care of TUKHS patients and clients, and with this task in mind, true clinical integration is not only achievable, but also inevitable. The team represents supply chain across 40 committees, fostering dynamic and collaborative relationships with clinicians that support the intent of the “5 Rights” of clinical supply integration.

Approximately 1.5M individuals visit The Ottawa Hospital (TOH) annually. To protect TOH’s most vulnerable patients, visitors, vendors and staff, the hospital implemented a COVID-19 screening policy at the beginning of the pandemic.

To expedite screening, TOH implemented self-directed kiosks and tabletop tablets, which facilitated faster entry across all entrances. The hospital achieved $1.5M in annual savings in labor and operational costs while continuing to promote effective infection prevention practices that help keep visitors safe. TOH was the first in a region of 20+ hospitals to implement the self-directed kiosks and tablets, leading other hospitals to follow suit.

As part of this self-directed screening, all visitors were required to attest they had received two COVID-19 vaccination doses, consistent with TOH’s staff vaccination policy, which mitigated the risk of transmission among anyone visiting, staying or working onsite at TOH.

Additionally, TOC automated its COVID-19 staff intake processes, streamlining the tracking and follow-up of over 14,000+ staff members and automatically triaging COVID- related inquiries and test results and the scheduling of COVID-19 tests. This automation allowed critical internal departments, such as supply chain, to continue functioning during a staffing crisis, where previously at some points, 500 staff members were under quarantine at a given time.

KEY CONTRIBUTOR: Kathleen McGarragle, Manager of Procurement Operations, The Ottawa Hospital

Dan Hurry has always challenged the status quo. He is a true visionary leader with a passion for supply chain that isn’t slowing down. He sees beyond the value a traditional GPO can provide and is establishing a transformative movement in healthcare supply chain that goes beyond contracted solutions.

Since his start in healthcare, Dan has worked to optimize and standardize supply chain operations. He has campaigned for more attention from hospital leadership, understanding the impact a supply chain department can have to both the bottom line and patients.

In January 2021, Dan and his team launched Advantus Health Partners, a supply chain solutions company that aims to deliver the next generation of healthcare. Driven by human connection and paired with innovative digitization, Dan Hurry and Advantus Health Partners want to make supply chain easy.

Dan strongly believes the supply chain industry’s future resiliency and that advancements are dependent upon the development of people today. Through the Advantus Leadership Development Program, he encourages Advantus leaders to intentionally schedule time for continuous learning and personal skill development.