GPO maximization is important for ASCs of any size

April 23, 2024

Halle Sinnott

Q&A with Kelly Williby, Vice President of Ambulatory Surgery Center and Community Health Center Sales

Kelly Williby, VP of Ambulatory Surgery Center and Community Health Center Sales at McKesson Medical-Surgical, leads our team of ASC directors. The ASC team acts as a consultative partner to our surgery center customers to provide customized solutions for optimizing their business – from initial surgery center setup to custom formulary suggestions, clinical guidance and more. Kelly has been with McKesson Medical-Surgical for 17 years and is especially passionate about helping ASCs reduce costs with Group Purchasing Organizations (GPOs). Below, Kelly provides her valuable perspective on how GPOs can benefit ASCs of any size.

What is a GPO and why is it important for ASCs?

A Group Purchasing Organization (GPO) is an entity that aggregates healthcare providers’ purchasing volume of supplies and services and uses that as leverage to negotiate discounts with manufacturers, distributors, and other vendors. While GPOs are beneficial for ASCs of any size, they afford small, independent ASCs the buying power as if they were a larger entity, helping to reduce costs.

What are the benefits an ASC can expect by joining a GPO?

For ASCs not currently engaged with a GPO, exploring a partnership could benefit your business. In an environment ripe with reimbursement challenges and rising costs, a GPO opens avenues for significant cost reduction, allowing businesses to optimize their expenses. GPOs can effectively manage direct purchases alongside distribution items while extending cost savings to other various expenses.

By joining a GPO, ASCs also gain access to a broad network of distributors and manufacturing partners, enhancing their procurement options. This benefit is particularly important during times of supply chain challenges and backorders.

Can you share more about how McKesson connects GPOs with ASCs?

To better serve our ASC customers and their distribution needs, we’ve established partnerships with GPOs. These partnerships, coupled with our consultative ASC team, help ASCs improve profitability. We prioritize customer feedback, tailoring our GPO selection based on their specific specialty and purchasing requirements to ensure an ideal alignment that benefits the customer, encompassing cost-effective solutions.

Can you share more about the McKesson team supporting ASCs?

What sets us apart is the strength and expertise of our sales force. With over 900 representatives distributed across eight regions, our team can provide extensive coverage to our customers. Our sales reps serve as the frontline, engaging in day-to-day operations, while regional experts are tapped in for expertise and advisory services. This structure allows McKesson to serve as an extension of our customers’ teams and provide solutions tailored to their ASCs.

We offer customizable ordering and delivery options, including just in time and late cut off ordering, early morning and next day delivery*, and low unit of measure - at no additional cost to our ASCs. GPOs are yet another lever we can pull to help ASCs optimize profitability while improving patient outcomes.

*available to 95% of U.S. locations.