Through their participation in UHC's supply chain program, members received $123m in cash returns from UHC Supply Chain. In addition, UHC members documented operational cost savings of almost $277m, which surpassed projections. This achievement was the result of UHC's advanced analytics, assistance with physician preference items, supply utilization and standardization, and Novation's leadership in sourcing and contracting. Novation's price leadership efforts contributed $87m of the total listed above and were attributable to price rollbacks, cost avoidance, and price protection. Novation provides purchasing and contracting services in healthcare.

"Our academic medical center members are particularly challenged in this era of health care reform; they need to reduce costs while maintaining excellent patient care," said Jake Groenewold, senior vice president, Supply Chain, UHC. "UHC and Novation play an essential role by providing members with high-quality supplies and services at competitive prices and actionable data and expert support for overall performance improvement."

UHC's programs, tools and resources are designed to help participating hospitals remain at the forefront of medicine and deliver health care efficiently and effectively. Its robust databases link operational, supply chain, and clinical data, giving hospitals enterprise-wide spend visibility. SpendLINK, UHC's spend analytics tool, identifies savings opportunities and provides actionable information to help hospitals achieve sustainable cost reduction across the supply chain continuum.

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