How Do Medical Group Purchasing Organizations Really Work?

How Do Medical Group Purchasing Organizations Really Work?
6 min read
26 December 2022

Medical group purchasing organizations or GPOs offer tremendous and immediate benefits to healthcare service outlets, mainly hospitals. The benefits offered by top medical supplies companies in Dubai are often overlooked and viewed with caution, no matter how real and significant they are. This may be because the value proposition may appear too good or simply because the GPO model is poorly understood. Hence, GPOs are an ideal management solution for non-strategic spending categories.

How Do They Work?

The basic aim of the GPOs is to fund the purchase of common goods or services across numerous buyers. It operates as a third party between buyers and suppliers, negotiating agreements that provide members with contract terms, superior pricing, and satisfactory service levels. This creates a purchasing power well beyond what any single company could attain. As the list of GPO members grows, its ability will also drive greater value for its members, and the suppliers will benefit from increased volume and deal compliance. 

Most GPOs are not non-profit organizations. They all work on one common spend-together aggregation principle, but not all may function similarly. While some GPOs may charge fees to join, others are free for members and derive their revenue mainly from their supplier partners. Yet some other organizations may drive their overall through total cost reduction, whereas their counterparts may offer a competitive purchase price. So when evaluating the top medical supplies companies in Dubai, you should understand each offering's total value proposition and how it can fit your enterprise needs. Supplier-funded GPOs work by the partner paying the GPO a periodic fee based on member transactions or aggregate spending. Most GPOs are likely to have low fixed and variable costs. The price is modest relative to the savings and total value provided. 

The group purchasing organizations provide their members with immediate access to leveraged pricing. The best ones will offer a true category management solution with tangible resources to drive program implementation and ongoing account support. Thus, the GPOs are an extension of their members' procurement teams by driving total cost improvement through complexity reduction and ongoing price negotiation. Group purchasing organizations also serve as agents for their members to provide practical issues escalation and resolution through their dedicated supplier account teams and C-level attention. The GPO can apply strategic management to tactical spending areas when combined with robust reporting and tracking of frequently low-visibility categories. It maximizes category value and frees members' procurement resources to focus on more critical priorities. 

So the bottom line is GPOs provide members with a simple solution for managing non-strategic and tail spend categories, especially those that are complex, resource-intensive, and tactical. The best one will charge no fees to their members, provide valuable resources and services at no additional cost, and require a minimal commitment to participate. This model benefits all parties since the organization applies consistent pressure on suppliers to optimize members' value and ensure that suppliers are rewarded for their efforts through increased market share. Several organizations offer a robust savings analysis before joining and a limited volume of term commitments, which is the least risky proposition in business today. As you go through your spending, you can identify the categories where strong GPO offerings exist and allow them to benchmark your savings potential. You are sure to find a solution that addresses your needs. 

How Do They Work With Suppliers?

The entire catalog is continuously benchmarked and negotiated if a GPO has dynamic pricing agreements. When there is an existing relationship between the buyer and supplier, the latter typically reduces pricing to GPO member levels and prevents any current supply agreement. But strong GPO models incentivize both the buyer and GPO to consolidate volume and drive compliance with the supplier, providing organic growth and increased market share. Suppliers are constrained in their ability to expand margins but are benefitted from the expanded volume. However, they ratchet up their margin over time through periodic price adjustments. Suppliers also see their market share grow profitably but may be constantly challenged to provide optimal value. 

Let Us See Their Working Step By Step

A healthcare facility that uses a GPO will typically have a limited number of suppliers for each product or service category. You must remember that GPOs do not do the actual purchasing- they only serve as middlemen for negotiating the contract with each supplier, which is selected by the healthcare provider, who establishes a committee of professionals to choose the products that the institution's specific needs. After this, the GPO starts working on the hospital's behalf, which goes this way:

  • Vendors are first pre-screened for product quality, performance reliability, and service standards. This takes much time and also eliminates the risk of the purchase decision. 
  • Then the organization charges the vendor an administrative fee for their service, which can range from 0.5% to 4%, depending on the purchase price that the hospital is paying for the specific product. After this, the hospital receives a percentage of this fee as a rebate, which can be turned into direct healthcare provision. 
  • Since GPO contracts usually have a 3-year term, the vendor becomes a preferred supplier. This also guarantees the price for that period.
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Sharukh Khan 7
Joined: 1 year ago
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