In today’s economy, the most effective way for an orthopaedic surgeon to increase profits is to trim costs. Large groups may be able to negotiate supplier arrangements that provide them with reduced costs, but smaller practices and solo practitioners may find it difficult to achieve such economies of scale.

To help AAOS members control costs, the American Association of Orthopaedic Surgeons has signed an agreement with Esurg Corporation for a group purchasing service for orthopaedic practices located in the continental United States and Alaska. The service will be introduced at the AAOS 2007 Annual Meeting in San Diego.

One-stop shopping

Esurg will offer the following product lines:

• Medical and surgical supplies (more than 16,500 products)
• General office supplies (more than 25,000 products)
• Pharmaceuticals and injectables (more than 3,200 products)
• Capital equipment and office furniture and fixtures

The volume of products means that, in general, practices will be able to engage in “one-stop shopping,” reducing the need for practices to deal with multiple vendors. Supplies will be shipped from distribution centers located throughout the United States with one to three day delivery.

Savings will vary, depending on an office’s current purchasing arrangements. In general, smaller practices can typically anticipate savings of 15 percent or more. Pricing for AAOS members will be reduced an additional 2 percent for most items relative to non-members. To find out just how much a practice can save on a typical order, Esurg will provide a free Customized Savings Analysis based on existing purchasing habits.

Easy to use

Practices can purchase supplies via a simple-to-use online order form that can be tailored to each office’s needs. No sales representatives will visit at inconvenient times. Practices will have the option to have purchase invoices sent to multiple offices or to one centralized location.

Esurg Corporation is based in Seattle, Wash. The company, established in 1999, has a stated business philosophy “to provide medical practices with the most cost-effective solution possible to save them money and time when procuring their supplies.” Esurg has already implemented group purchasing programs with Medical Group Management Association and the American College of Foot and Ankle Surgeons, and they recently executed another agreement with the American Urological Association.

Additional information regarding the Group Purchasing Program will be available during and after the 2007 Annual Meeting. While in San Diego, AAOS members should be sure to visit Academy Row—in the Sails Pavilion, Upper Level, near the AAOS Resource Center—to learn more about the program and Esurg.

For more information regarding the Group Purchasing Program, contact Steven Fisher, manager of the AAOS Practice Management Group, at sfisher@aaos.org or (847) 384-4331.

Stephen P. Makk, MD, MBA, is chair of the AAOS Practice Management Committee; David A. Halsey, MD, is chair of the Council on Advocacy.