Matt Castel, assistant professor of supply chain management, has teamed up with former College of Business and Economics student and current Penn State Ph.D. candidate Afjal Hossain Jisan on a recent paper, “Hospital use of group purchasing organizations: A cost effect analysis,” published in the International Journal of Healthcare Management.
Investigating the rising costs of healthcare in the United States, their paper focuses on supply costs’ substantial role in raising hospital expenses. To reduce costs, many hospitals rely on group purchasing organizations, which enable hospitals to purchase supplies at lower prices by pooling their buying power. Using studies that analyze the impact of GPO membership on hospital cost efficiency with data from 2016 to 2018, they found that hospitals participating in larger GPO networks were able to lower both their inventory costs and overall operational expenses.
While the paper delves into an important and timely issue in the healthcare sector, the collaboration between professor and alum also highlights the lasting connections fostered by Boise State’s business programs.