Sentara forms supply group with two other systems to cut costs

Sentara Healthcare has teamed up with two other large healthcare systems to form a new supply network.

Sentara, Novant Health, based in North Carolina, and MedStar Health, based in Maryland, have joined forced to form the MNS Supply Chain Network.

The network represents more than $3 billion in annual purchases of supplies and services, and officials expect the venture to reduce costs by 2 percent, or $60 million.

The new network also is expected to help identify the best uses for supplies.

“The MNS network’s strategic alliance will create concrete avenues for economies of scale and help us to derive significant supply chain savings,” said Michael Curran, the chairman of the MNS Supply Chain Network board and chief administrative and financial officer of MedStar Health, in a news release.

He added, “Our shared commitment to volume aggregated contracting strategies will drive value for all the organizations, their patients and communities.”

The MNS Network will be operational immediately and will be led by senior executives from each of the groups.

Of the three groups, Sentara is worth the most at $5 billion and operates more than 100 sites of care, including 10 hospitals.

MedStar Health is a $4 billion not-for-profit, regional health care system with nine hospitals, 20 health-related organizations and more than 100 care sites in Maryland and the Washington, D.C., region.

Novant Health is a $3.5 billion not-for-profit integrated health system made up of 13 hospitals in North Carolina, South Carolina and Virginia, 150 outpatient centers and a medical group with more than 1,000 physicians.