St. Louis-based Ascension and Ramsay Health Care, a Sydney, Australia-based hospital operator, said on May 2 they will combine their purchasing power in a global supply chain joint venture.
The venture will be owned equally by Ascension and Ramsay, the health care organizations said in a statement. Two Ascension subsidiaries — Ascension Holdings International and The Resource Group — will work with Ramsay's international procurement office to develop and operationalize the new global health care buying group.
Ascension Holdings is a portfolio of companies that provide services to Ascension's health ministries and to other health systems in the United States and internationally. The Resource Group is Ascension's group purchasing organization and strategic sourcing subsidiary, according to information from Ascension.
Ascension's health care division operates about 2,600 sites of care, including 153 hospitals and more than 50 senior living facilities, in 22 states and in Washington, D.C. Ramsay Health Care is a for-profit that operates more than 230 health care facilities in six countries: Australia, France, the United Kingdom, Italy, Indonesia and Malaysia.
The new venture already is exploring alternatives to traditional approaches to create an efficient technology platform for ordering, tracking, logistics and fulfillment, according to a news release.
John D. Doyle, Ascension executive vice president and president and chief executive of Ascension Holdings and Ascension Holdings International, said, "The new venture is designed by providers, for providers, with the belief that we can bring greater efficiency, discipline and innovation to the system, and form more productive relationships with the vendor community, so that all can benefit by making health care more affordable."
Craig McNally, Ramsay's group managing director and chief executive, said in a statement, "This new global health care buying group between Ascension and Ramsay will seek products internationally that are able to deliver the high level of service and clinical outcomes that our patients have come to expect. Globally, funders are looking for better outcomes at a reduced cost and it is important that all players in the health care system work to meet these expectations. At the same time, technology is advancing rapidly and we owe it to our patients to stay abreast of new developments."