IRVING, Texas--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Vizient, Inc. today announced it has been invited to present at the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) Nuclear Energy Agency (NEA) Meeting of the 4th Mandate of the High-level Group on the Security of Supply of Medical Radioisotopes (HLG-MR) on July 12, 2017 in Paris. The presentation will focus on the role of U.S. group purchasing organizations in helping relieve some of the cost pressures associated with various impending price increases in the nuclear medicine industry.
The NEA established the HLG-MR in 2009 to examine the underlying reasons for the global supply shortage of non-HEU molybdenum-99 (99Mo) and technetium-99m (99mTc) necessary for the medical grade isotopes used in radiopharmaceuticals. The fourth mandate of the HLG-MR is part of the continuing activities of the group that work toward the establishment of an economically sustainable model for the long term, secure supply of medical radioisotopes. The group meets twice annually to share information and to discuss ongoing policy issues.
“Radiopharmaceuticals are critical to the diagnosis of various disease states and have a complex and fragile supply chain. Vizient is committed to developing educational materials and other resources that address not only the molybdenum and radiopharmaceutical supply chain, but also the anticipated market increases including the continued reimbursement challenges related to bundling of these radioactive isotopes. It is our hope that Vizient will be a driver in moving toward reimbursement reform in this area,” said Leah Gannon, MBA, radiopharmaceutical senior portfolio executive for Vizient and a presenter at the meeting.
Gannon’s presentation will provide insight into the challenges U.S. health care organizations face as it relates to the adoption of non-HEU use in the production of radiopharmaceuticals. Vizient’s commitment to its members in this area includes providing assistance with the development of radiopharmaceutical programs, education on key medical imaging topics and using institutional data to drive appropriate change in practice.
About Vizient, Inc.
Vizient, Inc., the largest member-driven health care performance improvement company in the country, provides innovative data-driven solutions, expertise and collaborative opportunities that lead to improved patient outcomes and lower costs. Vizient’s diverse membership base includes academic medical centers, pediatric facilities, community hospitals, integrated health delivery networks and non-acute health care providers and represents more than $100 billion in annual purchasing volume. The Vizient brand identity represents the integration of VHA Inc., University HealthSystem Consortium and Novation, which combined in 2015, as well as MedAssets’ Spend and Clinical Resource Management (SCM) segment, including Sg2, which was acquired in 2016. In 2017, Vizient again received a World’s Most Ethical Company designation from the Ethisphere Institute. Vizient’s headquarters are in Irving, Texas, with locations in Chicago and other cities across the United States. Please visit www.vizientinc.com as well as our newsroom, blog, Twitter, LinkedIn and YouTube pages for more information about the company.
