SharedClarity Awards Surgical Mesh Contracts for Breast Reconstructive and Hernia Repair Surgeries

C.R. Bard, Ethicon and LifeCell selected suppliers

PHOENIX--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- SharedClarity, the medical device analysis and strategic sourcing group committed to promoting positive patient outcomes, announced today major contract awards for surgical mesh used in breast reconstructive and hernia repair surgeries.

LifeCell Corporation, C.R. Bard and Ethicon will provide a large majority of the surgical mesh used for breast reconstructive and hernia repair surgeries to the member-owners of SharedClarity.

The Phoenix-based company’s member-owners benefit from using the physician reviewed and selected devices while enjoying market-leading prices for those products.

“The recent awards in surgical mesh offer quality products at an affordable cost,” said Michael Georgulis, Vice President of Strategic Sourcing for SharedClarity. “Clinical findings from physicians are of prime importance at SharedClarity, as we work to identify high-quality products and create the best aggregated price opportunity for our invested owners in each category.”

Almost 1 million breast reconstructive and hernia repair surgeries combined are performed every year in the United States. The surgeries require surgical mesh, which acts like scaffolding and allows for scar tissue to form and provides long-term support for patients.

LifeCell Corporation, an Acelity company, will provide its biological mesh. C.R. Bard and Ethicon will supply composite and synthetic mesh.

UnitedHealthcare, a UnitedHealth Group (NYSE: UNH) company, and San Francisco-based Dignity Health, one of the nation’s largest health systems, co-founded SharedClarity, which launched in 2013. The company’s other member-owners are Illinois-based Advocate Health Care, Dallas-based Baylor Scott & White Health and Michigan-based McLaren Health Care. SharedClarity’s business model includes four additional health system members.

Physicians from each of SharedClarity’s member-owners were part of the surgical mesh clinical review councils that looked at data, reviewed literature and participated in focus groups to investigate which products promote positive outcomes for patients.

SharedClarity has completed clinical reviews and awarded contracts for cardiac rhythm management (pacemakers and defibrillators), bare metal and drug-eluting cardiac stents, and peripheral stents. The company will award contracts for orthopedic trauma devices in the coming months.

SharedClarity will conduct clinical reviews on up to 30 categories of high-impact medical devices, including hip and knee implants.

About SharedClarity

SharedClarity is a unique joint venture between health care systems and UnitedHealthcare that uses clinical data to study the effectiveness of high-impact medical products. SharedClarity uses the results of the studies to select effective medical devices for patients and negotiate market-leading purchasing agreements with manufacturers. For more information, please visit www.SharedClarity.net.

View source version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20160406005407/en/

for SharedClarity
Ron Trujillo, 559-289-8797 (cell)
[email protected]

Source: SharedClarity

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