IRVING, Texas and SAN JOSE, Calif., June 9 /PRNewswire/ -- VHA Inc., a national cooperative of leading not-for-profit healthcare organizations, and Neoforma, Inc. , a leading provider of supply chain management solutions to the healthcare industry, have entered into a three-year agreement that names Neoforma as a provider of supply chain data cleansing and maintenance services to the VHA membership base.
(Photo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20030226/NEOFORMALOGO )
The new agreement expands the existing relationships between VHA and Neoforma. Through the agreement, VHA member hospitals will receive preferred pricing and enhanced customer support for Neoforma Data Management Solution(TM) (DMS). VHA members that use both Neoforma DMS and Marketplace@Novation(R), the e-commerce solution that Neoforma helped build for VHA members, will realize even greater benefits, as the accuracy of the transaction information flowing through Marketplace@Novation will be improved at both the member and supplier levels.
Teams from both organizations are collaborating to educate VHA healthcare organizations about the benefits of Neoforma DMS, a powerful data cleansing and maintenance solution that enables healthcare organizations to improve the accuracy of data in their item master and vendor master data files.
Industry studies show that hospitals overpay as much as seven percent for contracted medical/surgical products due to discrepancies in item and vendor information. This inaccurate product information leads to errors in order transactions that require significant re-work by hospital staff, adding inefficiency and lost productivity to an already burdened healthcare supply chain.
"Neoforma DMS uses leading-edge technology and supports industry standards to help drive efficiencies in the supply chain," says Mike Cummins, chief information officer at VHA. "Furthermore, the Neoforma DMS team is staffed by people who have worked as materials managers and in clinical areas, so they understand their customers' needs. By making Neoforma DMS available to its members, VHA strengthens its efforts to drive cost reductions in the supply chain by meeting a significant need in the market -- providing access to clean supply chain data. Neoforma DMS is the perfect addition to the portfolio of supply chain services already available to VHA members through Neoforma and Marketplace@Novation."
Neoforma DMS is the only data maintenance and cleansing solution that is currently endorsed by VHA for its member hospitals. Neoforma DMS helps hospitals maximize their return on investment for their enterprise resource planning (ERP) and materials management information systems (MMIS), and it provides the foundation for accurate analysis of supply purchases. Users of Neoforma DMS are able to maintain data integrity and accuracy on an ongoing basis.
VHA member Baptist Healthcare, a 750-bed, five-hospital system based in Pensacola, Fla., recently completed a large Neoforma DMS project that enriched the quality and accuracy of its item master and vendor file information. Because Baptist is in the process of implementing a new MMIS for three of its hospitals, it seized the opportunity to cleanse and enrich important supply chain data housed in its MMIS. This data, ultimately, will be used to improve Baptist's spending analysis and decision support. Bob Gentry, director of materials management for Baptist Healthcare, also wanted to ensure accurate data synchronization between its MMIS and its patient charge and operating room systems.
"Recognizing our critical dependencies on the data and very tight timeframes for completion, the Neoforma DMS team worked very effectively and collaboratively with us to ensure on-time delivery," Gentry says. "Thanks to the quality of Neoforma DMS, I no longer have to worry about the accuracy of product information that flows through our systems, and I can focus on other priorities. This work will add tremendous value to our health system."
"Data accuracy is critical to maximizing savings and improving efficiencies in the healthcare supply chain," says Dan Eckert, president and chief operating officer of Neoforma. "We are excited to expand our offerings and value to the VHA member hospitals while providing an increased opportunity for revenue growth."
About Neoforma
Neoforma is a leading supply chain management solutions provider for the healthcare industry. Through a unique combination of technology, information and services, Neoforma provides innovative solutions to over 1,450 hospitals and suppliers, supporting more than $8 billion in annualized transaction volume. By bringing together contract information and order data, Neoforma's integrated solution set delivers a comprehensive view of an organization's supply chain, driving significant cost savings and better decision-making for both hospitals and suppliers. For more information, go to http://www.neoforma.com/ .
About VHA
VHA Inc. is a national alliance that serves 25 percent of the nation's not-for-profit hospitals and health systems. VHA leverages the collective strength of the membership to improve clinical, operational and financial performance. Through the VHA cooperative, members benefit from resources that assess critical needs and identify best practices to create customized solutions that lower costs and improve clinical quality. As a cooperative, VHA distributes income annually to members based on their participation. Based in Irving, Texas, with 18 offices across the U.S., VHA was named one of the "100 Best Companies to Work For" by Fortune in January 2004, for the fifth year in a row.
This news release contains forward-looking information within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended. These forward-looking statements include statements related to the enhanced relationship with VHA the benefits to customers from using Neoforma Data Management Solution and the increased opportunities for revenue growth for Neoforma. There are a number of risks that could cause actual results to differ materially from those anticipated by these forward-looking statements. These risks include the risk that customers may not reap the benefits anticipated from the use of Neoforma Data Management Solution, the risk that VHA members may decide not to use Neoforma Data Management Solution, as well as other operational challenges that Neoforma has faced and may continue to face in implementing its business plan. These risks and other risks are described in Neoforma's periodic reports filed with the SEC, including its Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the quarter ended March 31, 2004. These statements are current as of the date of this release and Neoforma assumes no obligation to update the forward-looking information contained in this news release.
NOTE: Neoforma is a trademark of Neoforma, Inc. Other Neoforma logos, product names and service names are also trademarks of Neoforma, Inc., which may be registered in other countries. Other product and brand names are trademarks of their respective owners.
CONTACT: media, Rebecca Oles, +1-408-468-4363, orrebecca.oles@neoforma.com, or investors, Amanda Mogin, +1-408-468-4251, oramanda.mogin@neoforma.com, both of Neoforma, Inc.; or Lynn Gentry of VHA,+1-972-830-0798, or lgentry@vha.com
Photo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20030226/NEOFORMALOGOAP Archive: http://photoarchive.ap.org/PRN Photo Desk, 888-776-6555 or 212-782-2840 Neoforma, Inc.
(Photo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20030226/NEOFORMALOGO )
The new agreement expands the existing relationships between VHA and Neoforma. Through the agreement, VHA member hospitals will receive preferred pricing and enhanced customer support for Neoforma Data Management Solution(TM) (DMS). VHA members that use both Neoforma DMS and Marketplace@Novation(R), the e-commerce solution that Neoforma helped build for VHA members, will realize even greater benefits, as the accuracy of the transaction information flowing through Marketplace@Novation will be improved at both the member and supplier levels.
Teams from both organizations are collaborating to educate VHA healthcare organizations about the benefits of Neoforma DMS, a powerful data cleansing and maintenance solution that enables healthcare organizations to improve the accuracy of data in their item master and vendor master data files.
Industry studies show that hospitals overpay as much as seven percent for contracted medical/surgical products due to discrepancies in item and vendor information. This inaccurate product information leads to errors in order transactions that require significant re-work by hospital staff, adding inefficiency and lost productivity to an already burdened healthcare supply chain.
"Neoforma DMS uses leading-edge technology and supports industry standards to help drive efficiencies in the supply chain," says Mike Cummins, chief information officer at VHA. "Furthermore, the Neoforma DMS team is staffed by people who have worked as materials managers and in clinical areas, so they understand their customers' needs. By making Neoforma DMS available to its members, VHA strengthens its efforts to drive cost reductions in the supply chain by meeting a significant need in the market -- providing access to clean supply chain data. Neoforma DMS is the perfect addition to the portfolio of supply chain services already available to VHA members through Neoforma and Marketplace@Novation."
Neoforma DMS is the only data maintenance and cleansing solution that is currently endorsed by VHA for its member hospitals. Neoforma DMS helps hospitals maximize their return on investment for their enterprise resource planning (ERP) and materials management information systems (MMIS), and it provides the foundation for accurate analysis of supply purchases. Users of Neoforma DMS are able to maintain data integrity and accuracy on an ongoing basis.
VHA member Baptist Healthcare, a 750-bed, five-hospital system based in Pensacola, Fla., recently completed a large Neoforma DMS project that enriched the quality and accuracy of its item master and vendor file information. Because Baptist is in the process of implementing a new MMIS for three of its hospitals, it seized the opportunity to cleanse and enrich important supply chain data housed in its MMIS. This data, ultimately, will be used to improve Baptist's spending analysis and decision support. Bob Gentry, director of materials management for Baptist Healthcare, also wanted to ensure accurate data synchronization between its MMIS and its patient charge and operating room systems.
"Recognizing our critical dependencies on the data and very tight timeframes for completion, the Neoforma DMS team worked very effectively and collaboratively with us to ensure on-time delivery," Gentry says. "Thanks to the quality of Neoforma DMS, I no longer have to worry about the accuracy of product information that flows through our systems, and I can focus on other priorities. This work will add tremendous value to our health system."
"Data accuracy is critical to maximizing savings and improving efficiencies in the healthcare supply chain," says Dan Eckert, president and chief operating officer of Neoforma. "We are excited to expand our offerings and value to the VHA member hospitals while providing an increased opportunity for revenue growth."
About Neoforma
Neoforma is a leading supply chain management solutions provider for the healthcare industry. Through a unique combination of technology, information and services, Neoforma provides innovative solutions to over 1,450 hospitals and suppliers, supporting more than $8 billion in annualized transaction volume. By bringing together contract information and order data, Neoforma's integrated solution set delivers a comprehensive view of an organization's supply chain, driving significant cost savings and better decision-making for both hospitals and suppliers. For more information, go to http://www.neoforma.com/ .
About VHA
VHA Inc. is a national alliance that serves 25 percent of the nation's not-for-profit hospitals and health systems. VHA leverages the collective strength of the membership to improve clinical, operational and financial performance. Through the VHA cooperative, members benefit from resources that assess critical needs and identify best practices to create customized solutions that lower costs and improve clinical quality. As a cooperative, VHA distributes income annually to members based on their participation. Based in Irving, Texas, with 18 offices across the U.S., VHA was named one of the "100 Best Companies to Work For" by Fortune in January 2004, for the fifth year in a row.
This news release contains forward-looking information within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended. These forward-looking statements include statements related to the enhanced relationship with VHA the benefits to customers from using Neoforma Data Management Solution and the increased opportunities for revenue growth for Neoforma. There are a number of risks that could cause actual results to differ materially from those anticipated by these forward-looking statements. These risks include the risk that customers may not reap the benefits anticipated from the use of Neoforma Data Management Solution, the risk that VHA members may decide not to use Neoforma Data Management Solution, as well as other operational challenges that Neoforma has faced and may continue to face in implementing its business plan. These risks and other risks are described in Neoforma's periodic reports filed with the SEC, including its Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the quarter ended March 31, 2004. These statements are current as of the date of this release and Neoforma assumes no obligation to update the forward-looking information contained in this news release.
NOTE: Neoforma is a trademark of Neoforma, Inc. Other Neoforma logos, product names and service names are also trademarks of Neoforma, Inc., which may be registered in other countries. Other product and brand names are trademarks of their respective owners.
CONTACT: media, Rebecca Oles, +1-408-468-4363, orrebecca.oles@neoforma.com, or investors, Amanda Mogin, +1-408-468-4251, oramanda.mogin@neoforma.com, both of Neoforma, Inc.; or Lynn Gentry of VHA,+1-972-830-0798, or lgentry@vha.com
Photo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20030226/NEOFORMALOGOAP Archive: http://photoarchive.ap.org/PRN Photo Desk, 888-776-6555 or 212-782-2840 Neoforma, Inc.
