UMass Memorial Health Care Saves Nearly $12 Million in Three Years; Continues to Focus on Cost-Management

DALLAS--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Broadlane, the leading cost-management company for healthcare providers, announced today that UMass Memorial Health Care, the largest healthcare system in Central and Western Massachusetts, has renewed its supply chain relationship with Broadlane for another three years. UMass Memorial will continue to access Broadlane’s unparalleled national contract portfolio of consumable supplies, equipment, pharmaceuticals and purchased services to help manage approximately $156 million in annual supply spend. Broadlane helps UMass Memorial manage costs across its five acute care hospitals and various home health and hospice programs, behavioral health programs and community-based physician practices.

“This highly productive relationship would not have been possible without the support of the UMass Memorial executive staff and their commitment to further strengthen their supply chain. We look forward to delivering three more years of improvements and savings.”

“During a critical time of impending healthcare reform and the need for significant cost savings, we continue to rely on Broadlane,” said John O’Brien, president and chief executive officer, UMass Memorial Health System. “Since the inception of our relationship, Broadlane has been a true cost-management partner, saving us nearly $12 million over three years. A dedicated account management function and commitment to service excellence has truly set Broadlane apart. We’ve utilized a variety of Broadlane services, and through this new agreement, we’ll be taking advantage of several more.”

Under the new agreement, UMass Memorial is expanding its use of Broadlane services to include initiatives with Broadlane’s clinical consulting division – The Preference Group^®. The Preference Group, combining clinical resources and knowledge with business objectives, will help UMass Memorial with their orthopedic contracting initiative and Value Analysis Teams (clinical alignment for optimal product selection).

In addition to accessing Broadlane’s national contract portfolio, UMass Memorial will continue to utilize:

OnRamp^® (Broadlane’s proprietary client portal) to access the national contract portfolio, informatics, Broadlane and industry news and education.
BroadLink^® (Broadlane’s e-commerce exchange) to automate and manage transactions between UMass Memorial facilities and suppliers electronically.
Broadlane Item Master Services will cleanse and manage processes and data related to the system’s item master to systematically improve the quality of purchasing data.
Capital Equipment Services to review vendor quotes and ensure accuracy and purchase the best capital equipment at the best value. UMass recently saved approximately $600,000 on new digital mammography equipment through Broadlane’s proprietary Live Group Buy program.
Transaction Management Services to increase efficiency and lower procurement-related expenses through Broadlane’s National Procurement Center, a centralized operation in Dallas.
Informatics for access to reports and to improve insight related to contracts, capital equipment, pharmacy and other key areas of spend management.
Broadlane Workforce Management^® for strategic sourcing of contract labor, partnering with UMass and other providers in their markets to identify labor needs and aggregate purchasing power.

“It’s truly been a pleasure working hand-in-hand with UMass Memorial to deliver operational improvements and cost-savings,” said Tom Sherry, Broadlane’s chief operating officer. “This highly productive relationship would not have been possible without the support of the UMass Memorial executive staff and their commitment to further strengthen their supply chain. We look forward to delivering three more years of improvements and savings.”

About UMass Memorial Health Care

UMass Memorial Health Care is the largest health care system in Central and Western Massachusetts, and the clinical partner of the University of Massachusetts Medical School.

UMass Memorial includes UMass Memorial Medical Center (Worcester, MA) and four community hospitals: Clinton Hospital (Clinton, MA), HealthAlliance Hospital (Leominster and Fitchburg, MA), Marlborough Hospital (Marlborough, MA) and Wing Memorial Hospital (Palmer, MA). Each hospital is fully accredited by the Joint Commission. In total, UMass Health Care hospitals have 1,111 beds. In 2008, UMass Memorial treated 58,762 inpatients and counted more than one million outpatients visits.

UMass Memorial Medical Center is accredited by the American College of Surgeons as the only designated Level One Trauma Center for adults and children in Central Massachusetts. The University Campus is home to the new Duddie Massad Emergency and Trauma Center and Life Flight, New England’s first hospital-based air ambulance. The region’s only Level III Newborn Intensive Care Unit resides on our Memorial Campus.

About Broadlane

Broadlane is the leading cost-management company for healthcare providers. Broadlane’s mission is to deliver and sustain exceptional improvements in the financial and operating performance of healthcare providers to afford them greater opportunity to achieve their missions. Its core services include supply chain management and clinical workforce management services.

Broadlane’s clients include leading providers such as Advocate Health Care, Ascension Health, Beaumont Hospitals, CHRISTUS Health, Continuum Health Partners, Kaiser Permanente, Kindred Healthcare, MedCath Corporation, New Hanover Regional Medical Center, Sisters of Charity of Leavenworth Health System, St. Luke’s Episcopal Health System, Tenet Healthcare, The Health Alliance of Greater Cincinnati, US Oncology and UMass Memorial Health Care.

The company is headquartered in Dallas with offices in Cincinnati, Detroit, Houston, New York City and Oakland. For more information, visit www.broadlane.com.