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Beaumont Health System selects UHC for Supply Chain Services

ROYAL OAK -- Beaumont Health System has selected the Chicago-based University Health System Consortium, or UHC, to provide group purchasing services to manage supply costs and improve supply chain efficiencies. Beaumont will have access to pharmaceuticals, medical devices, equipment and supplies at a lower cost. The contract is effective May 1.

"UHC's tools and strategy are well aligned with Beaumont's clinical, operational and overall supply chain objectives," said Mike Langlois, vice president, supply chain, Beaumont Health System. "By taking advantage of UHC's expansive contract portfolio, it is estimated Beaumont will save approximately $2.8 million annually."

Beaumont will have access to UHC's full range of supply chain resources, which are used by some of the nation's leading academic medical centers, while maintaining high-quality care.

UHC supply chain services include contracting through Novation, UHC's supply contracting company and the nation's largest group purchasing organization. Other services UHC will provide to Beaumont include competitive bidding and contract management and maintenance; reporting tools to help identify savings and improve efficiencies; consultative services to support supply chain efforts; and educational and peer forums for sharing best practices and opportunities for supply chain improvement.

"UHC has had a great relationship with Beaumont since they became a UHC member in 2008 and we're excited to welcome them to UHC's Supply Chain," said Jake Groenewold, UHC's senior vice president, Supply Chain. "We have a shared understanding of the importance that supply chain plays in meeting the challenges of health care reform. UHC and Novation are uniquely positioned to help them maximize their supply chain operations, cut costs and improve patient outcomes."

The UHC is an alliance of 119 academic medical centers and 291 of their affiliated hospitals, representing approximately 90 percent of the nation's nonprofit academic medical centers. UHC offers its members specific programs and services to improve clinical, operational, financial and patient safety performance.

Beaumont Health System is a three-hospital regional health system with 1,726 licensed beds, more than 14,000 full-time equivalent employees and nearly 3,100 physicians, including 500 employed physicians in the Beaumont Medical Group and more than 2,600 private-practice physicians. In addition to its hospitals in Royal Oak, Troy and Grosse Pointe, Beaumont has 54 community-based sites of care including medical centers in Oakland, Macomb and Wayne counties, family practice and internal medicine practices, five nursing centers, home care services and hospice. The Beaumont Research Institute has 1,100 active research studies with more than 82,000 participants. Beaumont is the exclusive clinical teaching site for the Oakland University William Beaumont School of Medicine.

More at www.beaumont.edu.

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