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Platform vs. consultants vs. GPO (Group Purchasing Organization) analytics.

The honest comparison. We are not trying to replace your GPO — we complement it. We are trying to replace the consulting model that JAMA documented at $15.7M average consulting spend per hospital across 14 years — about $1.12M a year (a Hospital Focus CK estimate, not a JAMA finding; we are not affiliated with JAMA) — with no statistically significant improvement in finances, operations, or quality of care.

Hospital Focus CK

Platform

$900/staffed bed/year. Continuous. You keep everything.

Consulting Firms

Traditional Firms

$15.7M avg consulting spend per hospital over 14 years — ~$1.12M/yr (JAMA, 2026). No documented improvement. IP walks out.

GPO Analytics Tools

Analytics Platforms

Included in membership. Shows what you spend, not how to reduce it.

Feature comparison: Hospital Focus CK vs. Consulting Firms vs. GPO Analytics Tools
Time to first identified savings
Hospital Focus CK< 10 minutes
Consultants3-6 months
GPO ToolsDepends on data upload
Total cost
Hospital Focus CK$900/staffed bed/yr — Strategic tier
Consultants$15.7M avg consulting spend per hospital across JAMA's 14-year window (2009–2023), ~$1.12M/yr; commercial engagements run $1.5M–$3.5M each (HFcK internal modeling)
GPO ToolsIncluded in GPO membership fees
Documented outcome evidence
Hospital Focus CK8 personalized initiative playbooks delivered within 90 days — a checkable delivery commitment
ConsultantsJAMA studied 306 hospitals — no statistically significant improvement in finances, operations, or patient outcomes
GPO ToolsContract price benchmarking only — no execution outcomes tracked
Initiative playbooks with execution steps
Hospital Focus CK300+ across 12 categories
ConsultantsCustom, project-scoped only
GPO ToolsAnalytics only, no execution
Kanban-style project management
Hospital Focus CK
ConsultantsSeparate PM overhead
GPO Tools
RFP (Request for Proposal) / vendor scoring templates
Hospital Focus CKBuilt into every playbook
ConsultantsCustom per engagement
GPO Tools
Contract monitoring post-close
Hospital Focus CKSavings capture at close + ongoing
ConsultantsEngagement ends
GPO ToolsLimited to GPO contracts
IP ownership of outputs
Hospital Focus CKYou own all generated docs
ConsultantsWalks out the door
GPO ToolsData stays in GPO platform
Requires IT / EHR (Electronic Health Record) integration
Hospital Focus CKNever — Zero-PHI by design
ConsultantsUsually needs data room
GPO ToolsRequires PO (Purchase Order)/AP feeds
Committed initiative delivery
Hospital Focus CK8 personalized initiative playbooks delivered within 90 days — see our delivery commitment
ConsultantsNo delivery commitments typical
GPO Tools
Continuous after year 1
Hospital Focus CKActive subscription = live workspace
ConsultantsRe-engagement required
GPO ToolsActive GPO membership

Service Delivery Commitment: 8 personalized initiative playbooks, or $200,000 in aggregate modeled savings, within 90 days — no refund mechanic. See hospitalfocus.net/guarantee for full terms.

We complement your GPO. We replace your consultants.

Your GPO negotiates baseline contract pricing. That is valuable — we are not here to replace it. We are here to help you use those contracts better: identify which categories have un-captured margin, generate the RFPs, equip your team to run the negotiations, and track the results on a project board.

The traditional consulting firm does the same thing — but JAMA (2026) studied 306 nonprofit hospitals that hired management consultants and found no statistically significant improvements in finances, operations, or quality of care. Average consulting spend was $15.7M per hospital across the 2009–2023 study window — about $1.12M per year. Hospital Focus CK is the platform version of that work — $900 per staffed bed per year instead of a multi-year consulting spend, continuously updated, and the IP stays with you.

Source: Bruch JD et al. “Changes in Nonprofit Hospitals’ Finances, Operations, and Quality of Care After Using Management Consultants.” JAMA. 2026. Article 2848641. Hospital Focus CK is not affiliated with JAMA or the study authors. The $15.7M figure is the study’s average cumulative consulting spend per nonprofit hospital across its 14-year window (2009–2023); any per-engagement or cost-comparison figures shown are Hospital Focus CK estimates, not findings of the study. Individual results vary.

See the difference in 10 minutes.

Run the Savings Estimator. Compare what the platform identifies in 10 minutes to what your last consulting engagement took 3 months to deliver.