Skip to main content
Subscribe
  • Login
  • My Account
  • Logout
  • Register For Free
  • Subscribe
  • News
    • Current News
    • Providers
    • Insurance
    • Government
    • Finance
    • Technology
    • Safety & Quality
    • Digital Health
    • Transformation
    • ESG
    • People
    • Regional News
    • Digital Edition (Web Version)
    • Patients
    • Operations
    • Care Delivery
    • Payment
    • Midwest
    • Northeast
    • South
    • West
  • Blogs
    • AI
    • Deals
    • Layoff Tracker
    • HLTH 2024
    • Sponsored Content: Vital Signs Blog
  • Opinion
    • Letters
    • From the Editor
  • Events & Awards
    • Awards
    • Conferences
    • Galas
    • Virtual Briefings
    • Webinars
    • Nominate/Eligibility
    • 100 Most Influential People
    • 50 Most Influential Clinical Executives
    • 40 Under 40
    • Best Places to Work in Healthcare
    • Healthcare Marketing Impact Awards
    • Innovators Awards
    • Diversity Leaders
    • Leading Women
    • Best in Business Awards
    • The 2030 Playbook Conference
    • Innovations in Patient Experience
    • Leading Women Conference & Awards Luncheon
    • Leadership Summit
    • Workforce Summit
    • Best Places to Work Awards Gala
    • Diversity Leaders Gala
    • - Looking Ahead to 2025
    • - Financial Growth
    • - Hospital of the Future
    • - Value Based Care
    • - Looking Ahead to 2026
  • Multimedia
    • Podcast - Beyond the Byline
    • Sponsored Podcast - Healthcare Insider
    • Sponsored Video Series - One on One
    • Sponsored Video Series - Checking In with Dan Peres
  • Data & Insights
    • Data & Insights Home
    • Hospital Financials
    • Staffing & Compensation
    • Quality & Safety
    • Mergers & Acquisitions
    • Skilled Nursing Facilities
    • Data Archive
    • Resource Guide: By the Numbers
    • Surveys
    • Data Points
  • Newsletters
  • MORE+
    • Contact Us
    • Advertise
    • Media Kit
    • Jobs
    • People on the Move
    • Reprints & Licensing
    • Sponsored Content
MENU
Breadcrumb
  1. Home
  2. Providers
April 10, 2013 12:00 AM

Novation company provides online platform for supply contracts

Jaimy Lee
  • Tweet
  • Share
  • Share
  • Email
  • More
    Reprints Print

    Novation, one of the largest group purchasing organizations in the U.S., formed a new company that will offer hospitals and other healthcare providers an online platform to negotiate tailored contracts for medical supplies.

    Over the past year, several traditional GPOs as well as other companies have launched online or social media-based platforms that aim to streamline hospital purchasing practices as well as provide easier access to price information and clinical data.

    Novation's new company, called Aptitude, will be available to hospitals and suppliers regardless of membership in Novation's network. It will operate as a wholly owned subsidiary of Irving, Texas-based Novation.

    Aptitude executives say the platform can increase efficiency in negotiations for so-called local contracts, which are individualized contracts between suppliers and hospitals. Standard contracts are established by GPOs for their members.

    “It was really born out of an effort to think differently and in a much more innovative way around the healthcare supply chain,” Novation President and CEO Jody Hatcher said. “How do we radically define the way buyers and sellers come together in the marketplace?”

    Ongoing cost pressures and ensuing efforts to reduce supply costs are driving the development of the new technology. In addition, providers are increasingly looking for better data about the relationship between medical supplies' price and clinical outcomes as they determine what products they plan to purchase.

    Hatcher also noted that while some elements of Aptitude's business are complementary to what Novation offers, in many ways they compete with the services and incentives of a traditional GPO.

    “Otherwise I think someone else is going to do it for us,” he said.

    Premier, another large GPO, launched PremierConnect in June of last year. The platform provides members with access to the company's clinical and financial databases as well as real-time data from electronic health records at hundreds of hospitals.

    PremierConnect is a “reflection of where consumer market has been going for years,” said Bill Marquardt, vice president of portfolio management for the Premier healthcare alliance.

    Curtis McEntire, a former pharmacy sourcing manager for the Intermountain Healthcare system in Utah, last year launched Mazree, a Salt Lake City-based business-to-business social network focused on the supply chain.

    Among Mazree's offerings is a platform to solicit, sort and review requests for proposals in a standard format.

    “The healthcare supply chain has many participants that don't communicate or collaborate very effectively,” Brent Johnson, Intermountain's chief purchasing officer and vice president of supply chain and imaging services, said in a news release announcing Mazree's launch in October. “It's a complex and costly supply chain. Mazree is a tool that has great potential to add significant value to the healthcare supply chain.“

    Vendormate, an Atlanta-based provider of vendor credentialing and other services, is another company that has developed a supply chain-focused platform, called Medzo. The online tool pairs Vendormate-credentialed suppliers with hospitals and, the company says, can help providers find information about new vendors or emerging technologies.

    Follow Jaimy Lee on Twitter: @MHjlee

    Letter
    to the
    Editor

    Send us a letter

    Have an opinion about this story? Click here to submit a Letter to the Editor, and we may publish it in print.

    Recommended for You
    mh-20250509-dementia
    Federal dementia pilot has rocky rollout for some providers
    mh-20250509-retail-healthcare
    Big retail tried to disrupt healthcare—who is making a dent?
    Most Popular
    1
    'Legendary' Hemsley takes over at UnitedHealth amid rough seas
    2
    Big retail tried to disrupt healthcare—who is making a dent?
    3
    These are the regulations the AHA wants RFK Jr. to scrap
    4
    Downside risk, upside payment highlight new CMS innovation agenda
    5
    Medicaid cuts bill clears key House committee
    Sponsored Content
    Modern Healthcare A.M. Newsletter: Sign up to receive a comprehensive weekday morning newsletter designed for busy healthcare executives who need the latest and most important healthcare news and analysis.
    Get Newsletters

    Sign up for enewsletters and alerts to receive breaking news and in-depth coverage of healthcare events and trends, as they happen, right to your inbox.

    Subscribe Today
    MH Magazine Cover

    MH magazine offers content that sheds light on healthcare leaders’ complex choices and touch points—from strategy, governance, leadership development and finance to operations, clinical care, and marketing.

    Subscribe
    Connect with Us
    • LinkedIn
    • Twitter
    • Facebook
    • RSS

    Our Mission

    Modern Healthcare empowers industry leaders to succeed by providing unbiased reporting of the news, insights, analysis and data.

    Contact Us

    (877) 812-1581

    Email us

     

    Resources
    • Contact Us
    • Help Center
    • Advertise with Us
    • Ad Choices
    • Sitemap
    Editorial Dept
    • Submission Guidelines
    • Code of Ethics
    • Awards
    • About Us
    Legal
    • Terms and Conditions
    • Privacy Policy
    • Privacy Request
    Modern Healthcare
    Copyright © 1996-2025. Crain Communications, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
    • News
      • Current News
      • Providers
      • Insurance
      • Government
      • Finance
      • Technology
      • Safety & Quality
      • Digital Health
      • Transformation
        • Patients
        • Operations
        • Care Delivery
        • Payment
      • ESG
      • People
      • Regional News
        • Midwest
        • Northeast
        • South
        • West
      • Digital Edition (Web Version)
    • Blogs
      • AI
      • Deals
      • Layoff Tracker
      • HLTH 2024
      • Sponsored Content: Vital Signs Blog
    • Opinion
      • Letters
      • From the Editor
    • Events & Awards
      • Awards
        • Nominate/Eligibility
        • 100 Most Influential People
        • 50 Most Influential Clinical Executives
        • 40 Under 40
        • Best Places to Work in Healthcare
        • Healthcare Marketing Impact Awards
        • Innovators Awards
        • Diversity Leaders
        • Leading Women
        • Best in Business Awards
      • Conferences
        • The 2030 Playbook Conference
        • Innovations in Patient Experience
        • Leading Women Conference & Awards Luncheon
        • Leadership Summit
        • Workforce Summit
      • Galas
        • Best Places to Work Awards Gala
        • Diversity Leaders Gala
      • Virtual Briefings
        • - Looking Ahead to 2025
        • - Financial Growth
        • - Hospital of the Future
        • - Value Based Care
        • - Looking Ahead to 2026
      • Webinars
    • Multimedia
      • Podcast - Beyond the Byline
      • Sponsored Podcast - Healthcare Insider
      • Sponsored Video Series - One on One
      • Sponsored Video Series - Checking In with Dan Peres
    • Data & Insights
      • Data & Insights Home
      • Hospital Financials
      • Staffing & Compensation
      • Quality & Safety
      • Mergers & Acquisitions
      • Skilled Nursing Facilities
      • Data Archive
      • Resource Guide: By the Numbers
      • Surveys
      • Data Points
    • Newsletters
    • MORE+
      • Contact Us
      • Advertise
      • Media Kit
      • Jobs
      • People on the Move
      • Reprints & Licensing
      • Sponsored Content