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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Carolyn Hickey
Phone: 703-243-9262

Arlington, VA (February 27, 2003) - This past year the Senate Judiciary Antitrust Subcommittee opened a hearing in April 2002 challenging the group purchasing industry to adopt a Code of Conduct within ninety days and implement those principles within a year. In partnership with its group purchasing organization (GPO) members, the Health Industry Group Purchasing Association (HIGPA) met that challenge. HIGPA unanimously adopted a historic industry-wide Code of Conduct that sets forth key principles for individual GPOs to embrace and incorporate into their internal business practices. Following the adoption of the Code of Conduct, HIGPA developed an initiative to ensure that its members coordinated their business practices to come into compliance with the industry-wide Code. In the near future, HIGPA will distribute the compliance survey to its GPO members. HIGPA will report to the Senate Judiciary Subcommittee on Antitrust upon receiving its GPO members' responses to the compliance survey.

The Health Industry Group Purchasing Association (HIGPA) will host its second annual Global Summit on Health Care Purchasing and Supply in Amsterdam, The Netherlands from June 2-4, 2003. The three-day conference will offer international senior group purchasing organization (GPO) and health care business executives, public sector policymakers and leading experts superior networking and educational opportunities.

The fundamental principle of the Global Summit is to foster the creation of knowledge-based strategies and coordinated systematic approaches to health care group purchasing practices worldwide. Summit faculty-comprised of senior health care executives and decision-makers from both the private and public sectors, and international and academic health leaders-will engage the audience in discussion on the industry's most timely topics, including breakthrough health care technologies, purchasing best practices, bioterrorism, global partnership opportunities and e-business standardization. The meeting is expected to attract between 75 and 95 participants including representatives from Gold Sponsor, Lawson Software.

"HIGPA is excited to hold its second international conference furnishing attendees with the opportunity to learn and discuss common, critical issues facing domestic and international stakeholders in the health care supply chain." said HIGPA President and CEO Robert Betz, Ph.D. "Building on last year's success and with the generous support of Lawson Software, HIGPA anticipates that the 2003 Global Summit on Health Care Purchasing and Supply will soon join the Association's stellar list of annual meetings."

HIGPA would like to thank the generous support of Lawson Software for sponsoring this international summit. Lawson Software delivers enterprise software solutions developed and designed to serve the specialized needs of service industries. Large to mid-sized organizations in professional services, health care, financial services, retail, public sector and other strategic markets rely on our systems to automate and integrate their critical business processes and to facilitate collaboration among customers, partners, suppliers and employees.

To learn more about the 2003 Global Summit on Health Care Purchasing and Supply visit HIGPA's web site at www.higpa.org.

HIGPA is a chartered trade association of approximately 170 health care purchasing and supply chain organizations. HIGPA's Industry Members include purchasing groups, associations, and health care provider alliances. HIGPA's Trading Partner members include many of the world's leading health care product manufacturers, distributors, wholesalers and related suppliers. According to a recent study conducted by a former principal analyst at the Congressional Budget Office, hospitals save patients over $30 billion each year by purchasing products through group contracts.

To learn more about HIGPA or the group purchasing industry, visit www.higpa.org or call 703-243-9262.

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