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MedAssets Expands Supply Chain Services with eCommerce Exchange; Improves End-to-End Automated Supply Chain Management

^{Published on 2011-07-28 05:40:51 - Market Wire}
 

ATLANTA--([ BUSINESS WIRE ])--In the latest expansion to its industry-leading Procurement Solutions, MedAssets (NASDAQ: MDAS) today announced enhancements to the MedAssets eCommerce Exchange, a proprietary ecommerce platform designed to automate healthcare provider purchasing operations. This faster, scalable architecture connects a health systema™s disparate purchasing operations electronically with suppliers to remove manual tasks that can erode the value of supply contract portfolios. In combination with the companya™s other Procurement Solutions, MedAssets customers have the potential to automate their purchasing transactions through a closed-loop electronic purchasing processa"from online requisitioning and electronic purchasing to automated payment and settlement.

"Our unparalleled experience managing healthcare procurement operations provides us with practical insight and commitment into developing solutions that address real-time provider needs."

Investment to Deliver Greater Purchasing Efficiencies to Expanded Customer Base and Market

MedAssets proprietary ecommerce platform already links a growing network of more than 200 suppliers with more than 500 of its healthcare provider customers, representing over $4 billion in supply chain spend. The company has invested in this technology initiative to vastly increase throughput and capacity of the MedAssets eCommerce Exchange, and to accommodate future growth and enhancements.

aThis upgrade demonstrates our continued commitment to technology innovation in order to drive greater efficiencies into the purchasing process, making the MedAssets eCommerce Exchange an attractive choice for all providers seeking performance improvement,a said Les Popiolek, senior vice president, Sourcing and Procurement Solutions, MedAssets. aOur unparalleled experience managing healthcare procurement operations provides us with practical insight and commitment into developing solutions that address real-time provider needs.a

The MedAssets eCommerce Exchange automates a variety of supply chain-related documents: purchase orders (POs), PO acknowledgments, advanced shipment notices, invoices, remittance and product/price catalogs. The MedAssets eCommerce Exchange lowers transaction costs and promotes cost savings through realization of prompt-payment discounts from suppliers. By routing purchase orders through the MedAssets eCommerce Exchange, providers maximize contract coverage, improve contract compliance and streamline processes. The MedAssets eCommerce Exchange also offers an online transaction portal that is intuitive and easy to use. The portal provides visibility to all electronic orders to more effectively manage discrepancies and complete daily tasks faster and with more accuracy.

New Hanover Health Network in Wilmington, N.C., has seen the benefits of the MedAssets eCommerce Exchangea™s automated, streamlined approach to purchasing operations. aThe primary benefit is identification of non-contract spend opportunities, and automatically verifying price accuracy for contracted items, validating that we are getting a three-way match between the purchase order price, supplier acknowledged price and contract price. It delivered sizable financial benefits and was a huge relief on workload,a said Josh Edgerly, New Hanovera™s network purchasing contracting manager. Using automated measures such as reconciling contracts and the three-way match process, New Hanover realized $1.5 million in cost savings in the first year.

MedAssets eCommerce Exchange Enhances Supply Chain Performance

aHealthcare purchasing departments often lack time and resources to implement efficiency strategies, and processes frequently are decentralized. An inefficient purchasing operation erodes the value of contract portfolios through low coverage and lengthy implementation, and manual invoice processing leads to untimely accruing and loss of available discounts. The MedAssets eCommerce Exchange is an ecommerce solution that improves financial and operational efficiency,a said Popiolek.

Procurement Solutions Offer Total Spend Management Support

The competitively priced, subscription-based MedAssets eCommerce Exchange is part of the industry-leading MedAssets Procurement Solutions suite, which enables providers to capture the full value of their supply contract portfolio through the use of dedicated experts, proven best practices and advanced technology:

• Item Master Services confirm that item masters contain products that are relevant, described consistently and priced accurately, with offerings ranging from monthly diagnostic and synchronization services to daily hands-on maintenance in the customers MMIS or ERP platform.
• eProcurement includes eProcurement ProdigoBuyera", which helps providers optimize performance and reduce costs by automating the requisition-to-pay workflow, and eProcurement ProdigoMarketplacea", which uses shopping-cart functionality that enables users to shop simultaneously for multiple contracted items, from multiple suppliers, and create a single requisition.
• Transaction Management helps providers increase operational automation and efficiency. Working from our National Procurement Center, a team of MedAssets transaction specialists uses proprietary technology to capture, analyze, transmit and acknowledge purchase orders in real time.
• Automated Payment Exchange powered by Hap-X®, is a Web-based universal payment exchange platform that delivers a transparent payment system between providers and suppliers, streamlining the settlement of invoices and increasing working capital and efficiencies.

About New Hanover Regional Medical Center/New Hanover Health Network

New Hanover Regional Medical Center'shospitals and serviceshave long-standing roots in Southeastern North Carolina, offering quality care close to home for generations of families through all stages of life. In addition to its main campus,New Hanover Regional Medical Centeroffers general hospital services atCape Fear Hospital in Wilmington and Pender Memorial Hospital in Burgaw. For more information , go to [ www.nhrmc.org ].

About MedAssets

MedAssets (NASDAQ: MDAS) partners with healthcare providers to improve their financial strength by implementing revenue cycle, spend and clinical resource management solutions that help capture revenue, control cost, improve margins and cash flow, increase regulatory compliance, and optimize operational efficiency. MedAssets serves more than 180 health systems, 4,000 hospitals and 90,000 non-acute healthcare providers. The company currently manages $45 billion in supply spend and touches over $316 billion in total patient revenue annually through its revenue cycle solutions. For more information, go to [ www.medassets.com ].

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