The Spending Hidden in Plain Sight

How a broader view of purchasing can change what your practice saves — and how much time you get back.

On any given Tuesday, the office manager reorders toner from a vendor she's used for years — no comparison, just habit. The operations director sits on hold with a waste management company that just raised rates 14%. A medical assistant at the satellite clinic overnights a shipment at whatever the carrier quotes.

Each expense feels small. Add them up across a year — every vendor, every contract auto-renewed without review — and they become a surprisingly large share of what the practice spends.

It isn't bad management. It's what happens when limited bandwidth meets too many decisions. There's no window in the week to shop waste management companies, renegotiate linen contracts, or benchmark shipping rates.

Many medical practices already rely on MGMA BestPrice for medical and clinical supplies. But it covers far more — office purchasing, facilities, logistics, records, IT, even construction. Through HealthTrust Performance Group's national scale, the membership program encompasses up to 85% of a practice's typical spend through straightforward, effective contracts. Not 85% of supply spend — 85% of total spend.

Most leaders ask, "Are we getting the best price on gloves and gauze?" This whitepaper answers a bigger question: How much of my spending is moving without any strategic support?