IRVING, Texas
IRVING, Texas--(BUSINESS WIRE)--In support of increasing patient and caregiver safety of its members, Vizient, Inc. announces that effective Oct. 1, submission of environmentally preferred attribute information by suppliers will now be an element of the non-financial criteria in all Vizient contract awards.
“We know that environmentally preferred purchasing positively affects caregiver health, patient health and the environment,” said Brent Gee, associate vice president, strategic programs. “Our goal with this new policy is to enable responsible sourcing decisions through the broadest, most cost-effective environmentally preferred product portfolio in the industry.” Vizient represents more than $100 billion in annual purchasing volume and currently offers 328 contracts covering more than 716,989 products that contain environmentally preferred attributes in its catalog.
Vizient bases its contracting process on the American Bar Association Model Procurement Code. As an additional part of the process, each contract category goes before a council of member hospital experts for review. Members of these councils will now include environmental considerations as a part of competitive contract evaluation criteria.
Supply chain leaders play a significant role in advancing environmentally preferred purchasing in their facilities; however, the terms “chemicals of concern,” “green” and even “environmentally preferred sourcing” can be confusing at best – and at worst, misleading. The new Vizient policy will ensure that supply chain leaders as well as sustainability leaders have the environmental attributes necessary to assist in product selections.
“Vizient is to be commended for listening to and recognizing its members’ needs related to environmental sustainability and its impacts on human health and the environment. This important advancement in the contracting process sends a clear message to manufacturers and distributors that will help shift the market toward products that prevent pollution, enable lifecycle cost savings, and support patient and environmental health,” said Michael J. Fiore, CIH, CSP director, environmental occupational health and safety/sustainability for NorthShore University HealthSystem and chair of Vizient’s Environmental Advisory Council.
Vizient’s Environmentally Preferred Sourcing Program utilizes MindClick as its preferred provider for collection, analysis, verification and reporting of environmentally preferred information for all contracted suppliers. Members can easily identify MindClick-verified third party certified data in Vizient’s product catalog.
“The need has never been greater to implement sustainability at every level in the hospital, due to the demand for environmentally friendly health care delivery combined with increasing cost pressures. The changes we are making to our contracting practices will ensure that members have the information they need to make responsible purchase decisions that benefit the health of the communities they serve,” said Gee.
About Vizient, Inc.
Vizient, Inc., the largest member-driven health care performance improvement company in the country, provides innovative data-driven solutions, expertise and collaborative opportunities that lead to improved patient outcomes and lower costs. Vizient serves a diverse membership and customer base which includes academic medical centers, pediatric facilities, community hospitals, integrated health delivery networks and non-acute health care providers and represents more than $100 billion in annual purchasing volume. The Vizient brand identity represents the integration of VHA Inc., University HealthSystem Consortium and Novation, which combined in 2015, as well as the recently acquired MedAssets’ Spend and Clinical Resource Management (SCM) segment, which includes Sg2. In 2016, Vizient received a World’s Most Ethical Company designation from the Ethisphere Institute. Vizient headquarters is based in Irving, Texas, with locations in Chicago and other cities across the United States. Please visit www.vizientinc.com as well as our newsroom, blog, Twitter, LinkedIn and YouTube pages for more information about the company.
