GPO survival strategies.

Over the last two decades we have witnessed the genesis of a rapidly consolidating market with nearly all healthcare providers now participating in a handful of purchasing organizations either alliance-based or major national GPOs. For a traditional GPO to survive, even thrive in today's rapidly consolidating customer environment, it needs to focus on five essential issues: negotiating agreements, electronically-formatted contract information, sales force and support staff, value-added programs, and equity ownership. This articles discusses these five issues giving suggestions for their implementation.