ROAMD Group Purchasing

Helping ROAMD members realize meaningful cost savings on services and supplies

Why consider a GPO?

You May Be Overpaying for Supplies and Services

In the US, just about all of America’s hospitals, and most non-acute care centers, belong to at least one GPO to reduce supply costs. But independent practices may not be taking full advantage of this resource. A recent ROAMD member poll revealed that half of respondents did not use a GPO, and 21% could not identify their GPO partner.

There is Power in Numbers

Group Purchasing Organizations have been around for a long time, spanning many industries. GPOs aggregate individual purchasers in a market, leveraging their combined purchasing volume to obtain reduced prices from manufacturers, distributors, and vendors. Members of a GPO benefit from access to the discounts the GPO has secured on their behalf – discounts like those routinely enjoyed by larger organizations.

GPOs can systematically reduce the cost of the supplies and services needed to run your independent practice:

Medical and surgical supplies
Medications and vaccines
Office supplies
Professional and other services
Technology and equipment

Using a GPO Just Makes Sense

It’s fair. We believe independent medical practices should have access to the same discount programs benefiting larger and hospital-owned practices.

It’s logical. By lowering cost structures, GPOs help members secure better pricing on the things they routinely purchase. In this way, ROAMD’s group purchasing program supports the competitiveness of independent, membership-based medical practices. And when independent primary care thrives, healthcare improves.

It’s free. ROAMD members have free access to our GPO programming; there are no additional charges or fees. Furthermore, there are no minimum purchase thresholds or required changes to your ordering processes and partners to participate.

Frequently Asked Questions

Group Purchasing Organizations have been around for a long time, spanning many industries. GPOs combine the purchasing volume of separate individual businesses, such as independent medical practices, into a single group, representing the group to manufacturers, distributors and service providers. By doing so, GPOs bring the combined purchasing power of the group to bear on the prices charged for supplies and services needed to run a practice.

Having a GPO partner systematically lowers the cost structure of independent practice. In a recent industry analysis, GPOs were found to save the healthcare system $34.1 billion annually; they are expected to save the industry $456.6 billion in the next decade.

And GPOs are a ‘win-win’ for practices and suppliers. While practices benefit from reduced costs, suppliers and manufacturers gain efficient access to an otherwise fragmented marketplace, reducing the costs associated with marketing and selling their goods.

An estimated 98% the 7,000+ hospitals, and a majority of non-acute care centers in the United States use at least one GPO.* But GPOs are less prevalent among small and fragmented entities, like independent practices, which require more work to organize and to service. As a national convener of concierge and direct primary care practices, ROAMD has established a GPO program to ensure that independent practices can achieve the cost advantages of larger entities. (*Healthcare Supply Chain Association)

Most of the everyday products and services needed to run a medical practice and serve patients are on contract with the major national GPOs These include all types of supplies purchased through distributors, as well as items shipped directly from vendors.

The value of GPOs and distributors is often confused, but these organizations represent two fairly distinct and complementary services in a practice’s supply chain.

Generally speaking, distributors purchase, distribute and sell manufactured products. Distributors own and warehouse the supplies before they are distributed to practices. Some purchasers also manufacture their own lines of products.

GPOs play an equally important, complementary role. Their purpose is to help practices achieve savings on supplies and services by a) aggregating the purchasing power of a collection of practices and b) using the group’s leverage to negotiate discounts from manufacturers, distributors and vendors. Discounted prices are placed on contracts, and then made accessible to individual GPO members. GPOs do not purchase, own, or distribute the supplies on contract.
ROAMD’s GPO program uses a leading national GPO that works with all major distributors – so there is no requirement to change distributors or representatives in order to participate. Furthermore, participation does not require members to use the GPOs contracts – the discounts are simply there when you need them.

ROAMD exists to ensure that independent, membership-based primary care practices thrive. Our group purchasing program lowers the practice cost structure – a critical component of member success as new primary care models enter and compete in our healthcare marketplace.

ROAMD’s program was designed specifically for independent concierge and DPC practices. We provide:

Free access to a leading national GPO portfolio, well-established in healthcare and with most major distribution and pharmaceutical partners
Discounts with member-recommended vendors of supplies and services highly relevant to membership based practice
Exclusive access to innovative programming, such as compliance education and executive coaching
A highly engaged community of like practices with which to benchmark costs and share intelligence

There are no additional fees to use group purchasing, and there are no required changes to your usual purchasing processes.

Interested in enrolling in the ROAMD Group Purchasing Program?

Reach out to us. We look forward to helping you with your purchasing needs.