The Health Care Value Chain
Producers, Purchasers, and Providers

Written by Lawton R. Burns and a panel of expert contributors, from the prestigious Wharton School, The Health Care Value Chain analyzes the key developments and future trends in the United States' health care supply chain. Based on a groundbreaking research initiative underwritten by the industry/university consortium-- the Center for Health Management Research-- this important book offers an in-depth examination of how the health care supply chain helps create value and competitive advantage.
The Health Care Value Chain offers a thorough examination of the trading relationships among the manufacturers of health care products, the distributors, the group purchasing organizations, and the hospital customers and end users of those products. And the authors show how health care professionals and manufacturers can work together to form beneficial strategic alliances.

Preface.

Acknowledgments.

About the Author.

Part I: Value Chain Basics.

1. The Wharton School Study of the HealthCare Value Chain (Lawton R. Burns, Robert A. DeGraaff, Patricia M. Danzon,John R. Kimberly, William L. Kissick, and Mark V. Pauly).

2. Importance of the Health Care Value Chain (Lawton R. Burns and Robert A. DeGraaff).

3. How the Health Care Value Chain Operates (Lawton R. Burns).

Part II: The Intermediaries.

4. Role of Group Purchasing Organizations (GPOs) (Lawton R. Burns).

5. Role of Wholesalers and Distributors (Lawton R. Burns and Robert A. DeGraaff).

6. Threats of Disintermediation Facing Distributors (Robert A. DeGraaff and Lawton R. Burns).

Part III: The Manufacturers.

7. Pharmaceutical Manufacturers (Lawton R. Burns and Patricia M. Danzon).

8. Medical Device Manufacturers (Robert A. DeGraaff and Mark V. Pauly).

9. Medical-Surgical Manufacturers (Lawton R. Burns).

Part IV: E-Commerce.

10. E-Commerce in Health Care Manufacturers,Distributors, and GPOs (Lawton R. Burns and Robert A. DeGraaff ).

11. E-Commerce and Integrated DeliveryNetworks (IDNs) (Lawton R. Burns).

Part V: Conclusion.

12. Conclusion (Lawton R. Burns and John R. Kimberly).

Index.

Lawton R. Burns is the James Joo-Jin Kim Professor and professor of Health Care Systems and Management in the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania. He is also director of the Wharton Center for Health Management and Economics and visiting professor in the Department of Preventive Medicine at the University of Wisconsin School of Medicine. Dr. Burns has published extensively on the health care system for the past twenty years.