Vizient/UMCSC/aptitude Launch Innovative Data Sharing Service

The recent launch of our data sharing service, UMCSC reveal, is generating quite the buzz. Here are a few excerpts from an article written about our innovative new initiative –

Driving Transparency: Vizient/UMCSC/aptitude Launch Innovative Data Sharing Service

By Thomas Finn

Timing is everything. You’ve undoubtedly heard it said before, but a clear explanation as to “why” is rare, so I’ll take a stab at it: we rely on innovation to enter new markets and/or transform existing ones. And when the innovation happens at the right time –and is properly credentialed—good things usually happen.

So yes, timing was the thought in the back of my mind during a recent conversation I had with Bruce Mairose, Vice Chair of Mayo’s Supply Chain Management organization. As you may know, Mayo is not only a Vizient member, but also the provider of sourcing and contracting activity for a purchasing network called the Upper Midwest Consolidated Services Center (UMCSC). And while most purchasing collaboratives tend to be regionally based, the UMCSC is a member-led-organization that currently includes 60 hospital systems across 20 states.

Ms. Brenda Peterson, a Vizient Vice President and its managing executive for theUMCSC partnership, was also part of our discussion. Not only do Ms. Peterson and Mr. Mairose have leadership roles in the UMCSC, but both were anxious to discuss “UMCSC reveal,” a newly launched web-based analytics and reporting service. Reveal is a notable fruit of their partnership, one that will undoubtedly have far broader industry ramifications.

What is UMCSC reveal?

What UMCSC reveal does (it’s aptly named I might add) is easy to understand. For suppliers, it strives to deliver the transparency that industry professionals have been talking about for the past decade. Participating suppliers that have contracts with UMCSC members can now see their market share in a monthly updated, web-based app, at the SKU level, and by each member, where they have contracts.

In addition, suppliers can see the market shares held by their competitors. In other words, the data sharing “reveals” the total product market, by item, by each individual member, and by respective share. And finally, it includes each facility’s respective consumption patterns, by the same criteria. As you might expect, these data can be sliced and diced any number of ways, providing suppliers a long sought after view of line-item-level customer markets.

As said, not difficult to understand –but hard to do.

How did UMCSC reveal happen?

Early last year, the UMCSC approached certain suppliers about its data sharing idea and they liked it. After a RFP process, aptitude, Vizient’s upstart direct contracting arm, was awarded the opportunity. aptitude is now the technology partner in the mix, as it was selected to create the app, manage the day-to-day operations and continuously update what is obviously a data-intensive service.

And it makes a lot of sense that aptitude got the deal. aptitude is riding health care’s well-publicized self-contracting trend and its business has taken off. So the idea that it would pursue development of a system designed to enable more credible commitments and generally, inspire more dynamic supplier/provider arrangements, fits its business model perfectly.

Read the full article: http://hcmatters.com/2016/02/13937/