Modernizing the supply chain to create a future where affordable, quality healthcare is possible

• Tina Vatanka Murphy, President & CEO

As health systems continue the shift toward value-based care and seek to overcome the challenges wrought by COVID-19, they face significant pressures due to workforce shortages, reimbursement challenges, mounting supply costs and persistent sourcing difficulties. In their return to this post-pandemic reality, leaders are pursuing opportunities to transform their businesses to be more operationally efficient and cost-effective while maximizing revenue opportunities and improving patient care.

The supply chain is increasingly at the center of these transformations. According to digital consulting firm West Monroe, U.S. hospital supply chain costs account for approximately 30% of all hospital spending ($25.4 billion annually), second only to hospital labor costs. And the benefits of better managing these costs are significant. A Guidehouse analysis of 2,127 hospitals found that: 

“Unnecessary U.S. hospital supply chain spending reached $25.7 billion a year in 2019 – a 11.8% or $2.7 billion surge from 2017. For individual hospitals, the average annual supply expense reduction opportunity jumped 22.6% from 2017 to $12.1 million in 2019, an amount equivalent to the average annual salaries of 168 registered nurses or 51 primary care physicians, or the average cost of 3,100 knee implants.”

Fragmented procurement and distribution models and siloed data are holding healthcare back from achieving growth and operational efficiency and advancing toward value-based care. To combat this, forward-thinking healthcare leaders are investing more in technology like cloud-based systems, AI and automation tools to enable the levels of collaboration and visibility needed to optimize the supply chain. Enter Syft.

Like the forward-thinking healthcare leaders that are investing in innovative technologies to create a better future for their organizations and those they serve, so too is GHX with the acquisition of Syft. With Syft, now a wholly owned subsidiary of GHX, our ability to simplify the patient-centered business of healthcare to improve outcomes becomes even more possible.

Founded in 1999, Syft® is a leading provider of AI-enhanced inventory control and end-to-end supply chain management software and services. Its comprehensive Syft Synergy® platform eliminates the need for multiple point solutions and helps facilitate immediate supply savings with a range of capabilities including master data management, inventory services, supply chain management software, analytics and advanced reporting. 

Syft’s automation tools, extensive data analytics and inventory management services complement GHX’s data-fueled offerings and supply chain expertise, helping healthcare move faster, operate more intelligently and improve clinical, financial and operational outcomes, including:

• Improved cost controls by carrying less inventory and reducing waste
• Higher revenue due to improved capture of billable supplies
• Real-time visibility into supplies across the organization, supporting supply chain resilience and agility
• Greater staff satisfaction and lower burnout through the automation of manual supply chain processes, creating more streamlined and easier-to-manage workflows
• Improved patient safety through better management of expired and recalled supplies and devices

As healthcare progresses toward a value-based future, GHX is committed to building trust, inspiring collaboration and simplifying healthcare to create a future where affordable, quality healthcare is possible. Syft reinforces GHX’s mission by providing the data and insight health systems need to help reduce costs, enhance patient safety and improve efficiency. By empowering health systems to better understand and reduce clinical variation, pair the right supplies with the right patients and eliminate unnecessary spend, the industry is poised to deliver more affordable, quality care.

We look forward to working together to build a better tomorrow.

Tina Vatanka Murphy

President & CEO