Harris Health System has again been named among the �Best 50� healthcare providers in the U.S. and Canada for its industry-leading efforts in supply chain management by the Global Healthcare Exchange (GHX), a worldwide healthcare technology company. In fact, Harris Health is the only such system recognized in Texas.
In healthcare, supply chain management involves all activities tied to supplies and equipment needed to take care of patients. It focuses on planning, forecasting, purchasing, product assembly, moving, storage and distribution. Harris Health System partners with GHX to achieve efficiencies and deliver the best possible care to patients.
�This award is a worthy indication of Harris Health�s longstanding commitment to quality healthcare, efficient processes and cost effective solutions,� says Jacob Titus, operations manager, Supply Chain Management, Harris Health System. �The Supply Chain Management Department has earned this impressive recognition by automating processes while implementing various solutions made possible by the latest technological advances in healthcare. Harris Health�s Information Technology Department and Harris County Purchasing Department played a significant role in helping Harris Health achieve this outstanding recognition.�
According to GHX, each top organization saved an average of $2.4 million in 2015 by automating purchase orders, invoices, taking control of contract spending and increasing electronic vendor connections. Harris Health ranked 36th, up six places from last year, among the more than 4,000 healthcare systems and hospitals rated. A presentation of the �Best 50� honor will be done during the 2016 GHX Healthcare Supply Chain Summit in May in Austin.
GHX annually honors healthcare providers who excel at supply chain management. Nationally, healthcare spending accounts for 17.6 percent of the gross domestic product, and that is expected to grow at an annual average rate of 5.8 percent through 2020. Supply chain costs are the second largest and fastest growing operational expense for most hospitals, which also face declining reimbursements and uncertainties connected to healthcare reform. Studies show 30 percent of hospitals today are unprofitable.