Measuring Purchasing Groups Performance in the Health Care sector

authors

  • Nollet Jean
  • Beaulieu Martin
  • Fabbe-Costes Nathalie

keywords

  • Purchasing groups
  • Performance measurement
  • Purchasing process
  • Health care sector
  • Case study

document type

ART

abstract

For many decades, governments in Western countries have attempted to control health costs. One of the strategies used is through purchasing groups, since consolidated needs generate additional savings. Although various aspects of purchasing groups have been studied, performance measurement has been neglected; due to the lack of proper measures, tensions between the purchasing group and its members can’t be addressed with more objective information. However, appropriate performance indicators are considered a prerequisite to successful collaboration. Using the in-depth case of a Canadian purchasing group in the health care sector, this article suggests a set of performance indicators to measure results considering dimensions of the purchasing process and the interactions between the purchasing group and its members (who are also its customers).

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