With a mandate to strengthen its health system through greater collaboration, the province of Nova Scotia’s nine district health authorities and IWK Health Centre have joined CAPsource, a national capital equipment procurement program offered jointly by St. Joseph’s Health System, Group >Purchasing Organization (SJHS-GPO) and Medbuy.
This relationship will enable the province’s hospitals to access the CAPsource program’s full range >of capital equipment procurement services that assist healthcare facilities to achieve best overall value for a wide range of equipment, including highly complex machines like MRIs, CT scanners and monitors as well as well-defined equipment types such as beds, stretchers and more.
Nova Scotia will grow its buying power by taking part in group purchasing initiatives for capital equipment with other facilities within the province and across Canada, which will lower acquisition costs and enable the district health authorities and IWK to select the equipment that best suits patient needs.
“We’re pleased to welcome Nova Scotia to our membership,” says Jay Ayres, SJHS-GPO’s Director< of Group Purchasing and Materiel Management. “Having recently worked successfully with many of the health authorities and IWK, we have great understanding of the province’s health system. We’re then able to offer our market knowledge and expertise working on a number of large, highly complex provincial and national capital projects.”
CAPsource recently assisted Cape Breton District Health Authority with diagnostic imaging equipment needs and has previously worked with IWK Health Centre on a special project to procure a full suite of monitoring equipment. This is in addition to other multimillion-dollar initiatives the CAPsource program has managed, including a significant DI-r/PACS equipment project for Quebec, Ontario and Saskatchewan as well as a large group buy of CT/MRI machines for Ontario’s Ministry of Health and Long Term Care.
“CAPsource is a leader in this field with a great depth of experience and a long track record with large-scale collaboration in purchasing capital equipment,” says Leonard Mac Eachern, Director of Materiel Management at Guysborough Antigonish Strait Health Authority. “As our province focuses on deeper collaboration between its health authorities and IWK on procurement, participation in CAPsource will allow us to work together efficiently, through one standard process, to achieve savings on equipment that can be directed to patient care.”
Nova Scotia has already started to participate in the CAPsource program with Capital District Health Authority and Pictou County Health Authority joining more than 20 hospitals across Canada in a diagnostic imaging RFP expected to launch later this month.
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About CAPsource
We utilize a procurement process developed and refined over 20 years of practice. This ensures every initiative achieves best value, saves time and stays within timelines, while our Members remain informed and involved every step of the way. The best part – healthcare organizations always make their own purchase decision – our process will provide the information they need to make it. To learn more, visit www.sjhcs-gpo.com or www.medbuy.ca.