CombineNet is delivering its advanced sourcing technologies to the healthcare industry through a joint venture with the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center (UPMC).

The joint venture, called CombineMed, is combining UPMC's reputation and experience in the healthcare industry with CombineNet's Advanced Sourcing Application Platform to transform the way in which goods and services are sourced in healthcare.

The introduction of Expressive Commerce into the healthcare marketplace is highly significant and timely. Rising costs are part of our national debate and CombineMed is making a difference. Expressive Commerce isn't replacing the way in which business is currently done; rather, it's extending the reach and scale of face-to-face negotiations between healthcare providers and their suppliers. For example, through Expressive Commerce, suppliers can find out their true market share because, for the first time, they will be exposed to the complete breadth of the healthcare provider's requirements. They will have the opportunity to submit multiple proposals, revise them, submit new items (such as therapeutic equivalents) and negotiate off-line.

Buyers will be able to build an unlimited number of potential award scenarios. Through the process, they'll be able to find out the cost of physician preference, prioritize change management initiatives and develop award scenarios that systematically introduce new and better products into their operations.

Even more, the buyer will be able to quickly evaluate thousands of supplier proposals in the context of all the supplier-driven non-price factors that distinguish the total value of their products. This is the power of Expressive Commerce.

CombineMed's inaugural sourcing event features a combined spend of more than $1 billion on pharmaceuticals and medical/surgical products, filling the needs of UPMC and three other major healthcare providers: the Charleston Area Medical Center (CAMC), and the Northwest Hospital and Medical Center (NWHMC). Visit www.combinemed.com to learn more.