Rashed AlFadala, the CEO and General Manager at Bridge Medical GPO, says with the high competition in the healthcare markets, hospitals, and medical centers are reluctant to reduce spending on human capital as they need to maintain the quality of their workforce
Can you provide a brief about Bridge Medical GPO?
Bridge Medical Group Purchasing Organisation is a data analytics company and we are able to provide our members, which are hospitals, medical centers, and clinics, with important cost analytics that help them create large savings in their purchase spending. We have a very intelligent system, and we use a lot of AI technologies that provide important insights to our clients. Another important part is the group purchasing model, which means that we aggregate large volumes of medical products on behalf of all our clients which will enable them to achieve up to 15 to 18 percent cost reduction on their purchases.
What was the vision behind this business model?
Healthcare providers are faced with fewer payments from insurance providers. The only way for them to start making better profits is to control their costs as the revenue side of the business is heavily controlled by the insurance. The two most important expenses in healthcare are the costs of human capital which include payroll and the second largest cost incurred by healthcare providers are supply costs.
However, with the high competition in the healthcare markets, hospitals, and medical centers are reluctant to reduce spending on human capital as they need to maintain the quality of their workforce. The only other way to save money is on supply and that is where we come into the picture.
We partner with those healthcare providers by giving them cost savings based on their purchases as well as vital insights on their supply chains to make better decisions that will ultimately lead to them being able to make major savings of 15 to 18 percent of their purchases. It will also enable them to save money on their inventory turnover, requiring less inventory as they hold in their balance sheet, saving them cash, which is very vital in this market.
How can such sourcing and procurement of medical products help the healthcare industry in the UAE?
Healthcare is a complete ecosystem and has a lot of stakeholders. The suppliers and vendors are an integral part of the healthcare ecosystem. It is our internal policy at BMGPO to support the overall ecosystem and each individual player in this ecosystem. By that, we do not procure and source material for the client from abroad and we do not contact and contract with the manufacturers directly. In order to support this ecosystem, we support the local Emirati suppliers and vendors.
How do you ensure product quality and authenticity?
Number one is that we contract with suppliers that have products that are registered in the UAE. Number two, we only source products from suppliers that are FDA or CE-approved products. Those are the main ways we control the quality of products that we source for our clients.
What do you think are the risk factors that are involved in the procedure?
Covid-19 taught everyone a great lesson. Such unknown, sudden pandemics or other external factors like geopolitical factors causing an increase in the cost of raw materials definitely impacts the supply chain. So, overall, proper planning and expert forecasting on supply chains, as well as contingencies such as holding certain emergency stocks are always in place, however, the main risk will always come.
What steps have you taken to mitigate these risk factors?
The best way to do it is to pre-negotiate the prices and most importantly, what we are doing differently than everyone else, holding actual stocks that will cover the operations of all our clients for the next minimum of six months if it comes to it.
What are your future expansion plans?
We have a vision for BMGPO to be a regional group purchasing organisation, serving the medical industry, and the UAE for us is a launchpad, to have a successful case study to demonstrate the success of this concept, so we can then expand on a regional level.
How does your company use generative AI to improve operations and the business?
Bridge Medical GPO is using generative AI to optimise its operations and improve its services. By analysing vast amounts of data, generative AI helps Bridge Medical GPO make informed decisions about pricing, contracts, and vendor selection. Generative AI is also used to manage contracts and vendor relationships more efficiently by analysing contracts, identifying key terms, and automating contract renewal processes.
Additionally, generative AI is used to analyse spending data more effectively by identifying patterns and anomalies in spending data, highlighting areas for cost savings, and providing data-driven insights to help Bridge Medical GPO make informed decisions. By leveraging the power of AI, Bridge Medical GPO is staying ahead of the curve and continuing to drive innovation in the healthcare industry.
