Medtech giants Medtronic (NYSE:MDT) and Abbott (NYSE:ABT) landed the 1st contracts with SharedClarity, an emerging group purchasing organization representing 5 large health systems and insurance providers.
The 3-year contracts, which prescribe preferred pricing for bare-metal and drug-eluting stents, mark a major milestone for SharedClarity. Formed less than 1 year ago, SharedClarity aims to leverage data gathered among healthcare providers to "determine the most effective medical devices to improve patient outcomes and reduce readmissions."
These contracts are the next major step in the evolution of our company," SharedClarity president Mark West said in prepared remarks. "We are showing how our model improves affordability for our members, while providing them with the most effective medical devices."
The contract is expected to provide SharedClarity members with "significant double-digit savings," West told ModernHealthcare. The McLaren Health Care hospital system alone is expecting to spend about 40% less on stents this year.
Listen to MassDevice.com’s podcast interview with SharedClarity.
SharedClarity brings together McLaren, UnitedHealthcare, Baylor Health Care System, Dignity Health and Advocate Health Care. On the provider side, SharedClarity represents about 140,000 healthcare workers who care for some 13.5 million patients. On the insurer side, UnitedHealthcare has wide-reaching records on its 40 million members, including procedures they’ve undergone, lab results, physical therapy and more.
The alliance uses comparative effectiveness data as a primary driver of decision-making, followed closely by financial savings, according to a press release. SharedClarity plans to continue applying this model to other medical devices, including cardiac rhythm management systems, joint implants and heart valves.
